The Secret Boyfriend
by Angelgirl2429
Summary: I've been dating him for about a year or so. I just moved into his place about 3 months ago. Oh, and did I mention that the person I'm dating is the pervert of the guild? But the problem is that I haven't told anyone about it yet. How will the members of Fairy Tail understand her feelings for a certain Seith Mage? Will they accept their relationship? Or not? Mainly Bixlu & others
1. The Secret Boyfriend

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL**

* * *

**The Secret Boyfriend**

I emerged from the bathroom sighing, "Mmmm, nothing like a nice hot bath to relieve the stress of the day."

I just came back from a week-long mission with Team Natsu. On our mission we had to capture this bandit that used potions to hypnotize and control people, but it only lasts for a couple of minutes. And each time he uses it on the same person, the time increases by 5 minutes. As usual, Natsu got motion sickness from the train, Gray and Natsu destroyed some of the famous places in the town just to find and capture the guy, Erza stopping their fights when it started, Happy "helping" us out, and using our whole reward money for the destruction that "we" caused.

I deeply sighed, _'I'll never get to pay my half of the rent anytime soon, am I?...Well, at least we completed the mission, right?...Yeah! And that's all that matters!'_

Straightening my posture, I secured the towel tightly around my body, so it wouldn't fall, and headed towards the kitchen for a little snack. Going down the hall, I made my way to the fridge. In the fridge, I spotted the milk, right next to it was the last strawberry yogurt, some bacon and sausage right next to that, a couple of bottled water above them, and a carton of eggs right next to those.

Craving something creamy, I looked between the milk and yogurt while murmuring to myself, "Hmm, should I drink the milk and then eat the yogurt? Or should I eat the yogurt first and then wash it down with the milk? But then I don't wanna be having two dairy products at the same time...hmmm...maybe I should eat the yogurt and then wash it down with water?" Nodding to that idea, I grabbed the strawberry yogurt and closed the door with my hip then made my way over to the utensils. Grabbing a spoon, I then ripped off the foil lid; licking it clean off of extra yogurt, placing it on the counter to throw away later, and dug into the creamy strawberry goodness.

Leaning against the counter, enjoying my little snack, I noticed my towel had loosened a little, so I put the spoon in the yogurt, placed it aside, and fixed it. After redoing and retightening the towel, I made a grab for my yogurt, but ended up feeling the flat counter top. Turning to where I placed it, I didn't see any sign of it anywhere. Then I checked the other side and spotted my yogurt in someone else's hand.

"Lookin' for somethin', Cosplayer?" The voice teased. I didn't even bother looking up to confirm that, that was Bickslow. Also, because of that annoying little nickname he uses; it just gives him away. _'How the heck did he get in here, anyway?"_

"Nope," I declined before taking the container from his grasp, then continued sarcastically, looking up at him with fake gratitude, "but thanks for taking care of my yogurt, Bickslow. I can't even imagine what would've happened if you hadn't found it for me," then flashed him a smile, "I really appreciate it." Then leaned back against the counter and continued eating.

As I was about to get another spoonful of yogurt, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bickslow's bare arms appear on either side of me, trapping me between him and the counter. Casually, he moved forward until his bare chest came in contact with my knuckles, making him stop his movements from getting any closer. I pulled myself off the counter and backed into the space, to try and put some distance between us, but he just moved closer, as if not wanting there to be any more space between us. To me, it kind of felt like we were dancing a little. Mentally giggling at the thought, I glanced up at his already smirking face; making note that his visor was off.

"Don't I deserve a little _reward_ for my _heroic_ act?" He questioned, lifting an eyebrow while his smirk widened.

Aware of what he was implying, I felt my cheeks heat up. As I saw his face coming closer, I tightened my grip on the container and spoon. Now realizing what I was holding, I felt my face return to its normal temperature and took the spoonful of yogurt out to shove it in front of his face, grinning.

He blinked twice, both of his brows scrunching together and crossing his eyes to look at the yogurt then he blinked again and turned his focus on me with a confused expression.

"Your reward!" I proclaimed, still grinning, as if answering his unspoken question. Then pushed the spoon closer to his mouth, urging him to open.

He stayed like that for a moment, unsure of what to do.

Thinking that he wouldn't make a move, I took the spoon in my mouth, and ate the yogurt; his eyes on me the whole time. Putting the spoon back in the container to get more, I then put it to where it was before; offering the "reward" to him again.

Shaking his head, he chuckled lightly, then grinned, murmuring, "Stupid." Before leaning down and taking the spoon in his mouth. I smiled brightly when he finally "accepted" it. Then I got another spoonful and automatically offered it to him, but as he came close to it, I quickly pulled it in my mouth. I let out a laugh when he stared at me with his mouth wide open. He just looks so cute when he has that expression, being caught off guard; I just had to do it, you know?

"Aww," I cooed, as I got another spoonful and offered it to him, but he just turned his head, refusing it. I giggled, "I'm sowwy." Then I went on my toes to kiss his cheek and settled back to the ground, putting the spoon in front of him once again. I lightly chuckled when he hesitantly took it in his mouth, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. _'Cute.'_

We both continued sharing the yogurt until there was only one last spoonful left. Bringing the spoon to my mouth, I ate half of it and feed the rest to Bickslow. Taking the spoon out of his mouth, I pressed my lips to his for a peck before handing him the now empty container of yogurt and spoon to put away; while I went to the fridge to get the bottle of water.

Once I came back, with the water in hand, I stopped a few feet in front of him to take in his appearance. He was leaning against the counter with his defined muscular arms that was crossed over his chiseled chest, just above his rock hard 6 pack, and that deep V cut that traveled down into his towel. All the blood came rushing to my face when I realized that he was only in his towel and... Quickly snapping my head to his face, I saw that he was laughing, loudly, with his head tilted to the ceiling and tongue lolling out, showing off his guild mark.

"What's so funny?" I snapped as I neared him, crossing my arms over my chest, mimicking him and glaring at him, waiting for an answer.

When his laughter died down, he responded, lifting a brow and smirking, "Did ya see somethin' ya liked?"

I tightened my arms across my chest, unconsciously pushing my boobs up. I felt my face become even hotter, almost the same temperature as Natsu's fire. Then let my head drop toward the ground, embarrassed. Suddenly, I felt Bickslow's arms pull mine from my chest and down to the sides. Then he took the bottle out of my hand and placed it on the counter. With his other hand he grasped the side of my neck and brought me closer, so that we were touching foreheads.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I know you hate it when I tease you, but," lifting his forehead from mine and moving the hand that was on my neck to my chin, lifting my face up toward his dark red eyes, he continued, "babe, you just look so cute when you blush like that."

My heart skipped a beat and I think I was tearing, but I couldn't tell because after a second, I literally jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his narrow waist, no longer caring if we were only wearing a towel, and also wrapping my arms around his neck, feeling his hands behind my knees to hold me in place. Moving with his lips, passionately, I felt a faint squeeze on my ass, but deciding that it was nothing, I continued to kiss him letting my head turn slightly to get better access.

After a couple of seconds, it happened again, but this time the squeeze was harder making me let out a yelp. Instantly pulling our lips apart, I looked at him with wide eyes to see that he was already smirking at my reaction.

"Somethin' the matter, Cosplayer?" He asked innocently.

Feeling myself get flustered, yet again, I unwrapped my arms from around his neck and held his shoulders, to use as a leverage as I removed my legs from around his waist to stand, but only managed to get one foot (or my toes) to barely touch the ground as he was keeping the other leg secure with his other hand, preventing me from escaping.

His smirk widened at our intimate position and at how my face became the same color as Erza's hair.

"U-u-uhh...umm..." I stuttered looking down as I felt his hand slowly slide the towel over my butt to my lower back, leaving it exposed to the cold air; sprouting goosebumps throughout my body.

Somehow, when he slid his hand back down to my now naked butt, my towel stayed in place, like it was magically glued there or something.

As I was trying to ignore his hand from groping my butt, I hesitantly lifted up my head to his still smirking face, took a deep breath, and opened my mouth to respond to his question. That is, until the towel fell from my body and dropped to the ground leaving me naked, in a weird position with Bickslow, and right now I'm pretty sure that he was enjoying this situation. _'Why?...Why?!...WWWHHHHYYYYYYYYYY?!' _I thought blushing even more, if that were even possible.

We both stared at each other for a while, then adjusted ourselves a little to get a good look at the fallen towel behind me, and stared at it for a moment.

As I made a move to grab it, Bickslow squeezed my hip and calf painfully hard, making me wince, denying any more movements. Turning my gaze from the towel to Bickslow, I saw that he was still looking at my towel, but instead of a smirk, he...grinned?

"Are you tryin' to seduce me?" He asked, pulling me with him as he leaned back against the counter to get a good look at my face.

Still blushing, I looked passed him, avoiding his eye contact, and replied stuttering,"W-w-w-what? T-the t-towel was...p-p-probably just loose again and...s-so when yo-" Bickslow interrupted, pressing his lips roughly against mine. I stiffened before melting into him a second later. Letting my hands glide to his naked chest, having a feel of it before the moment ended.

Shortly after melting into him, Bickslow suddenly pulled away to rest his forehead on mine again. Gazing into my eyes, he softly chuckled. I was about to pout when he recaptured my lips again and immediately asked for entrance by licking my bottom lip. _'This is all too weird-no, inappropriate. We're standing here, lip locking in the kitchen while the only thing separating us from going any further is a simple towel. The kitchen is supposed to be used for cooking and food! Not for a hot, steamy, make out session with your secret boyfriend! No matter how handsome he is or how cute he gets when he's shocked or how my heated body is pressed firmly against his or even how his soft lips is moving passionately with mine causing my body to melt into him; it needs to STOP!'_

I willingly opened up for him, granting him entrance; and he eagerly shoved his tongue inside to explore. I moaned a little when I felt his tongue poke mine, as if encouraging it to play. Feeling his slide along mine and twirling it around, I accidentally let out a rather loud moan. I wanted to pull away, but ended up not having the strength to do so. After a while of "playing", his tongue started wrestling with mine: pushing, twirling, and poking for dominance. Obviously, he won.

Taking control of the kiss, he stood up to his full height, without losing any contact of our lips. Feeling his hand slide up from my hip to between my shoulder blades he pulled me closer, squishing my boobs against his chest. I let out another moan from the heat, as his other hand kept a firm hold of my leg.

Desperately in need of air, I reluctantly pulled away from the kiss. Struggling to look up at him with glazed eyes, heavily panting, and my heart pounding in my ears. He rested his forehead against mine again, equally out of breath, keeping his eyes closed.

As I felt the warmth of his other hand travel from behind my knee to my waist, I slowly set my leg down grabbing a hold of Bickslow's shoulders again in the process, to avoid from falling because of how stiff my muscles were from being in that position for too long. As my leg slowly went down, his other hand moved from between my shoulder blades to my upper arm. From there, his fingertips gently trailed up to cup the side of my face causing me to sigh lightly from the heat.

Catching my breath, I blinked a few times to clear the glaze from my eyes. But ended up closing them fully, feeling too tired to even try.

"Lucy," he barely whispered.

"Hmm?" I hummed in response, my eyes still closed.

"Lucyyy," he whispered again. All the while feeling his nose nuzzle mine, as if encouraging me, he continued, "look at me."

Tiredly doing as he says, I opened my eyes and looked up into his. He gazed down at me with so much adoration and love that the glaze and tiredness evaporated and a small gasp passed through my lips.

"When you made that face, Lucy, I couldn't help myself ," he mumbled, pressing his lips to my forehead. He continued, "You're so beautiful, Lucy," then he kissed my nose, making me blush. And with just a hair strand between our lips, he finished firmly, "I love you, Lucy." and finally took my lips in his once again, but instead of blushing more, I stiffened. _'D...did he just...? H-h-h-he's not serious...is he? But he said my name...3 times! He _never_ says my name that many times! He would only say it when he wanted something or when he got worried about me. Other than that, it was always "Cosplayer" or even "Princess" sometimes, never "Lucy" nor "Lucy Heartfilia"...unless...unless he actually means it...'_

When we broke apart, I stared at him. As I looked into his eyes I tried to find any hint of regret or hesitation in them to see if what he had said was really true. Seeing none at all, I felt the corners of my lips being tugged to a big smile. I then placed my hand over his, that was on my cheek, and leaned into it, closing my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I saw that his were looking straight at me with that same expression that makes him look irresistibly cute. I giggled. Keeping my eyes on him, I turned my head toward his palm and kissed it gently. His eyes had gotten even wider, if that were even possible, and his cheeks were a faint blush. His reaction made me giggle more, which turned his faint blush to a deeper shade the longer I laughed.

When I got my laughter under control, I turned my head back towards him and saw that he still had that same expression on his face. Suppressing another fit of giggles, I raised myself up on my toes again to lightly peck his lips and settled back to the ground. Upon seeing his face, the deep blush had disappeared and his usual pervy expression, with his tongue lolling out, replaced his shocked one. He seemed to act like his original self, because the next thing I knew I was being carried, bridal style.

"Come on Cosplayer, let's go to bed." He said, looking down at me with a grin.

Giving him a grin of my own, I chanted loudly, "Bed! Bed!" While pumping my fist in the air, then chuckled as I sounded like his Babies.

He laughed loudly at my imitation.

"As you wish, Princess, hold on tight." This time, I laughed as he sounded like Virgo, then circled my arms around his neck and held on tightly as he started to our room.

* * *

Entering our room, he gently laid me down on the bed and I watched as he headed to the drawers to grab a pair of boxers. Suddenly blushing, I quickly pulled the satin dark blue covers up to my mouth and faced my back to him. I just got a good view of his sculpted butt.

_'When did his towel come off?! I'm _positive_ that he had it on, bu-' _I flinched when I felt Bickslow's arm wrap around my waist under the covers, interrupting my thoughts; then relaxed as he pulled me to his hard chest.

We stayed like that for who knows how long, laying there in silence. Feeling his steady heartbeat and warmth against my back and our breathing being the only thing being heard in the room.

"Bickslow." I whispered weakly, afraid to break the silence.

Not getting a response, I pulled the blanket from my mouth and whispered again, a little louder, "Bickslow?"

Again, no response. I tried again, turning my head, "Bicks-" I stopped in the middle of his name, when I saw that he was already fast asleep.

Slowly turning my body to face him, so to not wake him, I slowly lifted my hand to his face and gently cupped his cheek, rubbing my thumb along his tattoo's foot to his cheekbone. Stroking his cheek a couple more times, I fixed my eyes to his still closed ones and smiled tenderly at his sleeping face.

"I love you too, Bickslow." I finally confessed. Then I pressed my lips to his chin, seeing that I couldn't move any higher, unless I wanted to wake him, but avoided doing so. Raising my head from his chin. I checked to see if he was still asleep. Confirming that he still was, I rested my head back on the pillow and let my hand slide down his face to the mattress beside my head. Closing my eyes, I started to let sleep take over, until his arm pulled me more into him. A small smile graced my lips as I snuggled even closer to him to get more comfortable and soon drifted into a dreamless sleep.


	2. The Story

**A/N: Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Story**

Waking up to the morning beams of the sun entering through the window, I moaned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. As I continued to lay there, the warmth of the sun was slowly drifting me back to sleep, until a light snore got my attention. Turning my head away from the window down to my chest. Right there, resting on my boobs, was Bickslow's head and by the sound of his snores, he was still in a deep sleep. Then, realization dawned on me, bringing about a beet red blush. I'm still _naked under the covers!_

Turning back to the window, I estimated that it was around 10am by the amount of sunlight coming into the room. Then to Bickslow, trying to figure out a way to break free from his grasp without waking him up. I couldn't wiggle out from under him because then he would unconsciously pull me back against him and forcing him off was out of the question. Coming up with nothing, I shrugged, and ran my hand through his dark blue mohawk, slowly rousing him from his slumber.

"Bickslow...baby..." I called sweetly, looking down at him, petting his hair.

He grunted.

"...I need to pee..." I lied, pausing my action so he could respond.

After a while of silence, I heard him groan, then sigh, and finally he released his hold and rolled over to his other side.

Mentally cheering, I threw the blankets off of me and went to the bathroom to freshen up. When I was done I went to my dresser for a pair of panties and a simple light blue nightie that went up to my mid-thigh.

Heading out of our bedroom, I stopped at the doorway and turned back to Bickslow's sleeping form, then I blew him a kiss and left, grinning like an idiot on my way out.

At the kitchen entrance, I saw Bickslow's towel lying on the ground. _'Huh, so this is where his towel went.'_ I thought, picking it up and throwing it over my arm. Then I went to where my towel was and joined it with the other. Making my way out of the kitchen to put them away, I grabbed the now warm water bottle along the way and put that away too. With the towels in the laundry, I went back into the kitchen to make some breakfast.

* * *

With two plates full of eggs and bacon in both hands, I carried them to the living room. Placing the one with the bigger portion on the table, I said my thanks before beginning to eat mine of a regular size portion. Taking a bite of my bacon, I heard footsteps making its way over and lifted my head to a half-naked Bickslow.

"Mornin'," he greeted as he made his way over, kissing my head. Then he walked around to sit diagonal from me; he said his thanks and grabbed his food and dug in.

"Morning, how was your week?" I asked as I finished the food in my mouth.

"Lonely," he replied, glancing at me, then he smirked, "but the Thunder Legion _did_ finish their mission in _less_ than a week with_out_ doing any _major_ damages."

I glared at him as he emphasized "less" and "major". It irritates me how he has to gloat every time the Thunder Legion go on a mission the same time Team Natsu does.

_FLASHBACK TO A WEEK AGO_

_After we've confirmed our mission with Mira, I went home to pack._

_Grabbing what I needed for the mission, I walked back and forth between my dresser and bag, I packed 3 outfits and for emergencies, I packed an extra._

_"Whatcha doin', Cosplayer?" Bickslow questioned by the door, feeling his eyes scan my body._

_"I'm packing for a mission. I should be back in two or three days." I answered, double checking my bag to see if I had everything._

_"Whatcha gonna do on your mission?" He asked, taking a seat on the bed._

_Once I finished double checking my bag, I turned my attention to where Bickslow was sitting and smiled when I didn't see his visor on. _'I love seeing his eyes.'

_"We just have to catch a bandit that's been using potions to control people, seems easy enough." I said, shrugging a shoulder as I walked over and straddled his waist, resting my hands on his shoulders._

_"And...when are you leaving...?" His voice, deep and husky, as he leans closer._

_"In an hour..." I barely replied as his lips neared mine._

_"Me too..."_

_"Wait, what?" I pulled back staring at him, already forgetting what we were doing._

_"...Yeah, the Thunder Legion's goin' on a mission too." He responded nonchalantly._

_"What?! Since when?"_

_"Like 20 minutes after you guys left the guild. Plus, I'm pretty sure Team Natsu won't finish in 3 days. I'm thinkin'...a week, tops." He chuckled._

_"Ugh!" I growled, shoving him down to the mattress as he continued to laugh, "Don't doubt our team! We're stronger than you think!" Then I grabbed a pillow and started hitting him as hard as I could._

_"I didn't...mean that...you guys...were weak...!" He defended as I kept hitting him, not believing a word he said. But then, he grabbed my forearms just when the pillow was about to make contact with his face again, and continued, "I just meant that since Natsu and Gray always fight and cause the most destruction, I thought that you would be back home in about a week, instead!"_

_"But doesn't Freed and Evergreen fight too?! So shouldn't you guys take as long as us?!...Now that you mention it, both Laxus and Erza are S-class wizards too..." Bickslow slowly released my arms, when he figured that I had calmed down. I let my hands fall, hearing the pillow land on his chest, "So...wouldn't that mean that our teams...are kind of...alike...?" I contemplated, looking at Bickslow._

_"Then...who's Happy in our group...?" He asked cautiously._

_I hummed, grabbing my chin in thought, then I giggled, "Your Babies!" And, as if on cue, his babies came and hovered over us, chanting my name._

_"Hi, Pappa, Poppo, Pippi, Puppu, Peppe," I greeted, memorizing their names by their faces, "How are you guys?"_

_"Good! Good!" They chanted happily as they circled around me. I giggled at them._

_"Oh my gosh, I have to go!" I realized, loosing track of time, "Bye guys!" I said, grabbing each one of Bickslow's Babies and giving them a hug. Then I leaned down to kiss Bickslow, who was still lying on his back._

_Hopping off of his lap, I picked up my belt, whip, and pouch of keys, and hurriedly strapped them on. Then I grabbed my bag and headed out the door of our bedroom. But before I could reach for the handle of the house, Pappa, Puppu, and Peppe were there, blocking my exit._

_"Babies!" I whined, then turned around to see Bickslow and the rest of his babies running, or floating, after me. I tilted my head to the side, looking at him curiously._

_"Let me drop you off to the train station...nope, I'm taking you and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer." He panted out when he came in front of me, and when I was about to deny, he insisted. So without another word to each other, Bickslow grabbed my bag from my hand, grinning, and exited the house._

_Once we were on the porch, he wrapped his arm around my waist and then suddenly shouted, "Flight formation, Babies!" Then jumped on the babies' backs, taking off._

_"Bickslow! You could've warned me!" I screamed, desperately holding onto him._

_"Now, what would be the fun in that?" He laughed, letting his tongue fly out as he looked down at me._

_I rolled my eyes at him as I tightened my grip around his waist._

* * *

_We arrived at the train station, floating down to our usual corner spelled with runes, courteous of Freed, so no one could see or hear us; making us invisible to the world._

_Quickly jumping to the ground and snatching my bag out of Bickslow's hand, I bid my thanks before making my way to the train._

_"Lucy," I heard him say, making me turn around, "be careful."_

_"You too." I said, smiling softly at him._

_Continuing my way to the train, I took two steps before purposely dropping my bag and running back into Bickslow's arms, crashing my lips to his smirked ones; giving him one more kiss._

_I wanted the moment to last longer, but knew that time was of the essence and reluctantly pulled away from him, and went to pick up my bag. Adjusting the strap on my shoulder, I glanced back at him and smiled. He smiled back, letting his tongue hang out again, and then gave me a small wave of his hand. Giving him one back, I hesitantly made my way out of the runes and saw an irritated Erza, a nauseous Natsu, a half-naked Gray, and Happy by the train door. Erza handed me my ticket when I arrived. As she reminded Gray of his clothes, making him rush to put them on, I immediately started apologizing for being late._

_"It's okay, Lucy. We understand." Erza interrupted, as I took the seat next to her. She placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled, "And we're happy for you two."_

_"Aye!" Happy exclaimed, hovering in front of me._

_Looking toward a fully clothed Gray sitting across from us, he agreed with a nod, smiling, and I saw Natsu grin, ignoring his motion sickness for a second before his cheeks puffed up again._

_"Guys..." I mumbled, smiling at them, feeling tears at the corners of my eyes._

_As I heard the horn of the train, I looked out the window and waved at the corner; knowing that Bickslow was still there. With the smile still on my face, the train station got replaced with houses then a clearing as it made its way to Ochibana station where the mission took place._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

"Whatever," I muttered, going back to my food as I heard him chuckle.

When I finished eating, I put my plate down on the table and thought about our relationship, as I waited for him to finish.

The Fantasia battle was the first time I meet him. And of course, I hated him, heck, the whole guild hated _them_ for forcing us to fight one another to see who was the strongest wizard. And using Bisca, Juvia, Levy, Mirajane, Erza, Cana, and I as hostages, threating our lives, then the town, if Master Makarov didn't consider Laxus the new master of Fairy Tail. So when I battled him, I put all my efforts into defeating him, but not knowing how strong he was, I almost died. If it hadn't been for Loke to save me in the nick of time, I would have been one of his Babies! After Loke and I had finally defeated him, I sat there, on the roof, thinking about the things that Bickslow had said during the battle. Replaying his words about "going easy on me since I was new" and "keeping Loke's secret about being a Celestial Spirit" got me thinking; maybe he didn't want to hurt his friends after all, neither of them. And from that point on, I had already forgiven them for what they had done. _'Plus...he was kind of good-looking without his visor on, even if I only got a glimpse of his face back then.' _I thought, taking a glance at him as he ate.

After the Harvest Festival, Bickslow started the never-ending teasing about me liking Loke, then liking Natsu, then Gray, and he even teased me about liking Gajeel. Really?! Gajeel?! I mean, ever since the festival, Gajeel's been kind of nice, **especially** to Levy, and a good friend, that's all. Also, I think anyone with _eyes _can see that him and Levy are already a couple, even if they're blind to see it.

I've wanted to face Bickslow ever since the teasing got out of hand, but there didn't seem to be an opportunity. Until that time came; the day everybody came out to dance. When Capricorn shouted "Switch!" I casually made my way to Bickslow, positioning our hands and following his lead.

Making sure that we were out of ear shot of everyone, especially the two dragon slayers, I asked about his constant teasing and even showed him how obvious it was for Gajeel and Levy to be a couple. I also told him that I only thought of them as good friends and nothing else. Somewhere along the line, I told him that he was actually pretty nice, funny, and a kind of good-looking guy, and even started talking about all his flaws until I instantly felt something warm on my lips. It took me a while to realize that Bickslow had just kissed me, but, after he pulled away, he left, leaving me there, dumbfounded.

From then on, I spent all day and night thinking about why he did that. Sometimes I would touch my lips and still feel the warmth of his lips on mine again, causing them to tingle. I would have to take a couple of solo jobs, just to get my mind off of him for a while. And when I would sleep he would _always_ haunt my dreams. He would kiss, not just my lips, but all over my body. The heat and softness of his mouth traveling down my body felt so real that every morning, I woke up to soaking wet panties.

A whole month had passed since that day. I felt frustrated and confused, and I was going out of my mind trying to figure out his feelings for me! So, one day, when I saw him alone at the bar, I went right up to him and told him to follow me and walked right back out.

Hearing faint footsteps following behind me, secretly hoping that those were Bickslow's, I walked two or three blocks away from the guild and went into an alley.

_FLASHBACK (IN THE ALLEY)_

_After he came and stood a couple of feet in front of me, I looked to the ground and asked, "Why did you kiss me?"_

_"What?" He replied after a while, but I knew he could hear me because it was dead quiet. You could even hear a pin drop in this alley._

_Taking a deep breath, I lifted my head ,and firmly asked again, "Why did you kiss me?" Slowly, a blush started to paint my cheeks as I continued to look at him._

_Then he started toward me, making me back up until my back hit the wall, preventing me from going any further. He placed one of his arms above my head and started leaning in._

_"W-what are you doing?" I stuttered, still looking at him. I felt my heart pounding and my palms getting sweaty as I was already embracing the wall because of the closeness, but he didn't say anything. I was already getting a little weak as he just continued to lean closer. Instinctively, I closed my eyes when he got dangerously too close._

_He stopped suddenly, feeling his nose touch mine and his warm breath on my mouth._

_"Bickslo-" his lips took mine in a chaste kiss. My stomach was doing flips, and my fingertips and toes were suddenly tingly as I just stood there. The kiss was short, yet sweet. When I blinked open my eyes, I saw him stare back at me, smirking._

_"Does that answer your question?" Blushing deeply, I shook my head, no._

_"Why did you kiss me?" I questioned again._

_His smirk widened, "Do I need to show you again?"_

_"No...I need to hear it." I instantly shook my head again, still blushing._

_"Why do you need to hear it? Can't you already tell how I feel about you?" He was referring to the kiss._

_"No, because..."_

_"'Because' what?"_

_"Because I want to know if what you're saying is how you really feel about me, instead of just wondering if you think of me as one of your toys!" I hissed, still aware that we were in a public area. I felt the familiar burning sensation behind my eyes and desperately forced myself to resist the urge to cry._

_"Why would I make you one of my toys? I don't think of you that way. Also, I'm too old to be having toys." He stated, crossing his arms._

_"Yeah, too old! Too old!" His Babies cheered, clearly making my point as I pointed towards them._

_"Hey! My Babies are different! They have souls and I created their bodies, which makes them different!" He defended, pulling his Babies in the safety of his arms as if someone were to hurt them. I opened my mouth to say something, but Bickslow continued, "Besides," then he released his Babies and gently grabbed my hands, and as he spoke, he slowly intertwined our fingers, "why would I want toys that look__ all the same__ and can be easily replaced...when I can have a key that's special and unique, and can open only one gate to a Cosplayer Queen that's standing right in front of me?"_

_I looked at him with wide eyes, completely ignoring that he called me a Cosplayer Queen. I never knew that Bickslow, the creeper and most perverted person of the guild, could be so sweet and romantic._

_"Really?" I asked softly, afraid that if I spoke any louder then I would think that this was all an illusion._

_"Really...Lucy." And with that he released my hands and cradled my face, pulling me in for a passionate kiss._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Ever since then, we both agreed that we should keep our relationship a secret, but since neither of us could keep it a secret from our teammates, we decided to tell them together, in my house. Bad idea. Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Happy all jumped in front of me saying that "Bickslow was controlling me" and that "he's only playing with my emotions". Erza even slapped my face to see if I was being controlled at that moment. However, The Thunder Legion and Laxus were surprisingly...calm...at first, then Evergreen suddenly jumped from her seat and gave Bickslow a hug, while screaming, "Yay! Finally, Bixy has a girlfriend!" Turns out, Bickslow never had a girlfriend before, he had only one night stands. So technically, I'm his first girlfriend and he's my first boyfriend (coincidence? Fate? Call it what you will). Then Freed and Laxus joined Evergreen by slapping his back or shaking his hand. A totally opposite reaction from Team Natsu, but after a _lot_ of convincing, they finally accepted our relationship, but not without a few threats to Bickslow that made him visibly pale. Once everyone had calmed down, we also told them that we wanted to keep this relationship a secret-only between us. They all seemed to understand, except for Natsu, who was dense about relationships. But we just let it go and hoped that he doesn't go running his mouth to everyone about this.

A year had passed since that time we got together and we're happy as can be. Even though we fight, even if it's over something stupid, we fight because we care about each other a lot to avoid losing one another.

_'Now, the only problem we need to think about is...telling our guild mates.'  
_


	3. Revealed

**A/N: Thank you to those who have reviewed, favored, and followed. I'm really happy you guys enjoy it so far!**** Hope you enjoy chapter 3! :)**

* * *

**The Secret Boyfriend...Revealed**

"...Cosplayer...Oi, Cosplayer...Lucy!" He called, finally saying my name, as I purposely ignored the usual nickname he gives me.

"Yeah?" I replied casually, smiling at him.

"What's wrong? You've been starin' at me ever since you finished eating." He asked.

"Nothing, just thinking about something." I answered, shaking my head.

"What were you thinkin' about?" He questioned, putting his empty plate on the table then leaned back, resting his arms along the back of the couch and arm rest.

"Well," I started, looking at my pointers as they pushed against each other, "umm...maybe...Ithinkweshouldtelleveryoneaboutourrelationship." I blurted out, then quickly looking up at him, to see a grin slowly spread across his face.

"Okay, but first. Come here." He nodded his head to the side, wanting me to take the seat next to him. I looked at him suspiciously then cautiously got up and made my way over to the spot next to him.

When I sat down, he lightly chuckled, then suddenly grabbed my waist with both of his hands and lifted me up, saying, "No, silly...here." And placed me on his lap, adjusting my body sideways, so that I was facing him; feeling my cheeks heat up during the action.

"So...how do you suppose we tell 'em?" He asked, resting his hand on my leg.

"...Okay, well, first-things-first, we _have_ to tell Mira before we tell anyone else. I know that she'll be disappointed that we didn't tell her as we got together, but at least it's from our mouths instead of somebody else's, right?" He nodded at the reasoning.

"But, why don't we just tell them all at once?"

"We can't just go up on a table and announce that we're a couple! That's too embarrassing." I objected. Imagining that happening got me flustered.

He chuckled lightly, "How about another way then?" Moving my hair behind me as he spoke.

"Ummmm...we could walk in together...?" I suggested, feeling his hand rub up and down my leg, then I looked down, biting my bottom lip in thought, then murmured, "But that would be showing instead of telling..."

Then Bickslow grabbed my chin, lifted it up to his face, and leaned down to suddenly claim my lips with his. Already melting into him, I kissed him back, grabbing the back of his neck. As I was moving my lips with his, I felt that he was pouring his emotions into this one kiss. I could feel: happiness, excitement, fear, joy, vulnerability, lust, but most of all, love. I reluctantly pulled away from him, gasping for air, but he continued; trailing kisses to my exposed neck. I tilted my head, giving him more access, as he nipped and licked a spot in the middle of my neck before taking it into his mouth, causing me to shiver. Then he let it go with a small pop, he trailed more kisses to the other side of my neck and gave it the same treatment, but this time a moan escaped my throat. After, he licked his way down to the center of my chest, right on the top of my cleavage, and gave it a slow lick before he pressed his hot mouth on it, causing me to gasp out and arch into him, gripping his hair and shoulder tightly. When he lifted his head from my chest, I noticed that the top of my back was resting against the arm rest as he stared down at me.

"Nice." He grinned, tracing that same spot on my chest with his fingertips then to the sides of my neck.

Giving him a confused look, I asked breathlessly, "What?"

"Now it'll be easier for us to tell them." His grin widened as he stuck out his tongue.

"What do you-" I gasped, finally understanding what he just did, "...You didn't..." I breathed, bringing my hands to the spots where he left marks on. I stared at him with wide eyes. Then he winked, confirming my assumption and causing my cheeks to heat up yet again. "Bickslow!" I whimpered, sitting up, "We were suppose to _tell _them, not _show_ them!"

He shrugged his shoulder lazily, "Well, bite marks are a love letter written in our flesh.*" I stared at him, shocked, with a beet red blush, as he casually leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head, as if he felt prideful for what he just done.

I shook my head, recovering from the shock. Then I took my hands away from my body and immediately stood up from Bickslow's lap. Then I grabbed both of our plates, and making sure my voice was all nice and sweet, I said, "Then, you don't mind doing the _dishes_," roughly pushing them into his chest for emphasis, "would you?...Good." I said, giving him a fake smile when I saw him nod his head. I would've hit him, but the plates were too beautiful to break. So straightening back and heading out of the living room, I then shouted, over my shoulder, "And can you also do the laundry?! Oh, and don't forget to make the bed!"

"Wait! Why do I have to do those too?!" I heard his voice echo from halfway down the hall.

I turned around and said, "Well sweetie, you're free to make your _choices_, but you're _not_ free to choose the_ consequences_.**" I gestured to my neck and chest area, where he purposely left love bits, as I emphasized 'choices'.

Satisfied, when he didn't respond, I turned back around, with a smirk tugging at the edge of my lips, and headed to the room to get ready to go to the guild.

When I got into the room, I immediately went to the Babies and kissed them awake. They slept in their beds on the dresser. And when I say beds, I mean their _actual _beds. They each had a pillow, big enough to fit their bodies, and a blanket. So, what if they have wooden bodies, they're still souls.

"Morning guys." I smiled, when they all floated out of their beds and cheered the word 'morning' twice, "Sorry that I had to wake you, but can you guys go outside, please? I need to get ready. Bickslow's in the kitch-"

I didn't get to finished as they all zoomed pass me, shouting his name as they headed out of the room, "-en..." I giggled.

"Okay, now, what should I wear?" I asked myself, sighing, as I held up a light blue shoulder-width sweater.

* * *

"UGGHHH! I DON'T HAVE _ANY _CLOTHES TO COVER UP THESE LOVE BITES!" I shouted to the ceiling. Right now the floor was covered with sweaters, jackets, and shirts that covered my chest, but not my neck and some covered my neck, but not my chest.

Frustrated, I slumped to the ground sighing and leaned against the dresser. I stayed like that for a while, with my head facing the ground. Then I suddenly remembered that outfit that I wore when Master announced the wizard candidates for the S-class exams. Lifting myself to my knees, I eagerly began searching for that brown turtle neck sweater.

"Yes! Oh my gosh, I can't believe I still have this." I smiled brightly at the said sweater as I held it up, then laid it out on the bed.

"Okay, now, to search for a bottom." I murmured, looking in the drawers for a bottom. It didn't take long to decide on some white Capri pants 'cause that was the first thing that caught my eye.

Slipping out of my nightie, I quickly put the sweater and Capris on; deciding to leave my hair down. Then I faced the mirror, that was above the dresser, to look at myself. The outfit hugged my figure perfectly and it showed all my curves, causing me gasp.

"...Whoa...," I breathed, stepping closer to the mirror as I continued to admire myself. _'I never thought that an outfit like this would show all of my best assets.' _Then I hummed happily as I twirled around and struck a pose that would show off my hips, stomach, butt, calves, and boobs.

_'Wait! THE HICKEIES!'_ I realized, after I spotted a purple-ish mark peeking out of my collar, while I was posing. Leaning my neck toward the mirror, I pulled the collar of the sweater down and inspected the two marks on either sides of my neck. The love bits looked to be about the width of my two fingers together and the length of about 2 1/2 inches. _'I am _so _gonna murder him for this!'_

"...Hmm, well...at least they're only peeking through the fabric and not fully exposed." I stated, pulling the collar back up. Then sighing as I leaned away from the mirror and went over to my keys. Grabbing Plue's key, I summoned him.

"Open! Gate of the Little Dog! Nicola!" Plue appears, wobbling in front of me.

"Pun, Pun."

"Aww, come here, Plue. You're such a cutie patootie." I called, enveloping him in my arms, then headed out the room, only to collide into something hard making me stumble back.

"Whoa, are you okay, my Princess?" Bickslow asked, his usual smirk in place, as he caught me around the waist. My face started heating up at our position. It kind of looked like he was dipping me by the way he had both of his arms around my waist.

"Y-y-yeah," I stuttered out,_ 'Dammit, Lucy.'_ I gently cleared my throat before firmly asking, "I'm fine now, would you mind letting me up?"

After he straightened me up, I said, as I inched my way around him, "So...me and Plue are gonna head to the guild now, so we'll see you guys there, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Sure! Sure!"

"Great! Okay...uh...bye." I kissed his cheek and ran out the room with Plue securely in my arms.

"Bye Lucy!" I heard the Babies shout as I unconsciously slammed the door shut.

* * *

_'Oh my gosh! That was so awkward! Stupid! It's only Bickslow, your _BOYFRIEND!_ I should be use to these kinds of things, right? SO, WHY THE HELL DID I ACT LIKE THAT?!' _I thought harshly, walking away from the house.

"Pun! Pun!"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry Plue!" I apologized, loosening my death grip on Plue. While I was scolding myself, I unconsciously squeezed the life out of him.

I deeply sighed, resting my chin on Plue's head, "Maybe I'm just nervous..."

"Pun?" Plue looked up at me, curiously.

"I mean, we _have _been dating for over a year now, so isn't it time we told the others about us?"

"Pun, Pun." He nodded.

"But...I don't want people to think that it's some sort of joke...No, there's no way they can think or _say_ that. This is Fairy Tail we're talking about here; my friends, my _family._ The only horrible thing they would do is scold us about keeping it a secret from them, but then over look it because of how happy we are together. And if they question or rejected our relationship, then they would have to deal with it!" I proudly declared as I ended up looking to the sky, then I sighed again, but a happy sigh this time.

"Is this what love feels like Plue...? You feel scared about your relationship being judged, but then you think 'hey, as long as we're happy, then that's all that matters' and then you forget about what others think because you're too happy to actually notice or consider it?" I smiled, tightening my grip around Plue again, though not like before.

"Pun, Pun." I felt him shrug.

I giggled, "You're so funny, Plue." And continued the rest of the walk to the guild.

* * *

When we arrived at the guild, I took a deep breath in and slowly dragged it out.

"Okay, here it goes." I murmured, pushing the doors open. When I entered, I saw Natsu and Gajeel arguing about being stronger than the other, then Gray started joining in and then Elfman and then, the next thing you know, they start brawling in a cloud of dust. Paying no heed to their constant fighting, I casually made my way over to the bar where Mira and Kinana were behind the counter talking with Erza and Cana.

"Morning guys." I greeted as I took the empty seat between Erza and Cana.

"Good Morning, Lucy." Erza, Mira, and Kinana greeted at the same time.

"Morning, Lucy." Cana greeted.

I gave Mira a smile when she gave me my usual, a strawberry milkshake, and Plue his lollipop, which he gladly accepted and jumped on to the ground to sit himself by Erza, humming blissfully. Flipping my hair behind me, I sipped my drink. Erza seemed to notice the marks right away because she leaned in, towards my ear, when she made sure that Mira was talking to Cana and saw Kinana go to the back.

"Lucy, is that a...h-hickey?" She whispered with a very faint blush on her cheeks.

I gave her a slight nod when I pulled back, facing her.

"Are you planning on telling them?"

I nodded again.

"Are you sure?" She gave me a worried expression.

"Yes, Erza." I confirmed firmly, giving her a smile. She continued to look at me with a worried expression for a while. Then she smiled.

"I'm proud of you, Lucy."

"What're you guys whispering about over there?" Cana asked, looking at us curiously, making me turn my head to look at her as I leaned away from Erza.

Then I heard Mira gasp loudly, "Lucy!" She pointed to the side of my neck, "Is that a hickey?"

"What?! No way! I wanna see!" Cana said, then gasped, "It's on this side too!" She eagerly pushed the collar down to get a good look. Then I felt Erza tap my shoulder.

'That side too.' She mouthed. A blush tainted my cheeks as I shyly nodded, which caused her face to match the color of her hair.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" I heard Kinana gasp as she saw the marks on my neck. _'She must've missed the things that Mira and Cana said.'_

I was going to answer her when Cana interrupted, "Did you finally do it, Lucy?"

"N-" I started as I began blushing again.

"Don't be silly, Cana. Lucy's not the type of girl to just do it with someone." Mira interjected causing my face to heat up even more. _'How can they talk about these kinds of things so openly?'_

"Maybe she's _secretly_ dating someone?" Erza joined in, nonchalantly, raising her brow and smirking at me. That got Mirajane and Cana's attention.

After what seemed like an hour of silence, Cana turned to the guild and shouted, "Hey everyone! Lucy's finally got herself a boyfriend, but not just any boyfriend, a _secret boyfriend_!"

"CANA!" I hissed loudly, feeling smoke come out of my ears from the amount of heat that was rushing to my face.

"Really, now? Well, as the true fairy of Fairy Tail, I would like to know who this _boyfriend_ of yours is, Lucy?" Evergreen asked slyly, when she walked up behind Cana, looking at me the same way Erza did.

_'Why's the guild suddenly so quiet?' _I slowly turned around in my seat to see that the fight between the guys were at a pause and everyone was looking toward the bar.

_'Shit. Thanks a lot Cana.'_ I thought sarcastically.

I glanced at Freed, who was looking up from his book, and he gave me a single nod, then I glanced at Gray and Natsu, who were already grinning at me, and they both gave me a thumbs up. I gave them all a smile in return.

"So...who it is, Lucy?" Mira insisted, pulling my attention away from the others and turned back to face her with a wave of confidence.

"Yo! Hey, why's it so quiet in here?"

_'Speak of the devil.'_ I thought, softly grinning.

"So quiet! So quiet!" I broke out into a wide grin when I felt the attention move from me to Bickslow.

"It seems Lucy here got herself a boyfriend, _Bickslow_." I sipped my drink casually when I heard the smirk in Evergreen's voice.

"And Lucy's been keeping him a _secret._" Erza added, also smirking.

Hearing Bickslow's footsteps make their way to the bar. I could practically hear him smirking as well when he said, "Is that so?"

"Uh-huh."

"Yup!"

"Indeed."

"Aye, sir!"

I heard Gray, Natsu, Freed, and Happy agree one after the other. I tried to control my giggles by biting my straw as I imagined all of them smirking, while I continued to casually drink my milkshake.

"And she's not telling us who it is!" Cana complained, taking her alcoholic beverage and chugging it.

"Well, how about I help you out there?" Bickslow offered, wrapping an arm around my waist to grab my guild marked hand and intertwined our fingers together. Then he lifted his arm to rest around my shoulders, so the girls could see our linked hands. In the background, the guild filled with murmurs, _deep voiced_ murmurs. _'I guess the guys figured it out already.'_ Then it went back to how it usually sounded around the guild, without the constant fights, of course.

Feeling my stomach get full, I released the bitten straw and leaned back against Bickslow's chest. Without a word, he grabbed my shake, took the straw in his mouth, and finished the rest for me; as if to further convinced them who I was dating. Kinana and Cana seemed to get the picture because Kinana walked to the others with a blush and Cana went back to her drinking. Erza and Evergreen already knew, so I think after Bickslow walked up behind me, they went to their respective tables and chatted with their team mates or they were talking to each other at a table somewhere. So it was just me, my not-so-secret-boyfriend, and Mira.

When he put the empty cup back on the counter, he tilted my head and claimed my lips. If Mira didn't catch his obvious hints then I'm pretty sure she finally got it now.

_'Mmm, strawberry flavor.' _I mentally giggled.

He pulled away; even though he had his visor on, I could tell that he was gazing at me the same way I was gazing up at him right now, with a lot love and trust.

"So, who is it, Lucy?" Mira repeated, as if oblivious to the hints he was just gave her as she continued looked at us.

I giggled when I heard Bickslow do a facepalm with his free hand.

"Mira, can't you see who's holding her hand," he lifted our linked hands, "or that in-directed kiss or even that real kiss I gave her? Don't they automatically show that I'm her boyfriend?" He implied, looking at her in disbelief.

"No, I saw those. I just wanted to be sure that my assumptions were right, so I asked." Mira stated, matter-of-factly, straightening her posture.

"Ha! See! If you don't, flat-out, tell a girl what you're thinking, then she might assume the worst or get horribly confused by your mixed signals." I stated, as well, sticking my tongue at him.

"Oh, and to answer your question Mira. It's Bickslow." I continued fondly, while taking off his visor and placing it on the counter while pushing his hood down.

Knowing that he always complains about his hair being messed up whenever he takes his hood off, I sat him down in Erza's pervious seat and started to fix it.

"When did you guys start dating, anyways?" Cana asked.

"A year and a half ago." I unconsciously answered, too busy concentrating on fixing Bickslow's mohawk.

"What was that Lucy? Did you say '_a year and a half ago_'?" I heard Mira's voice get dangerously low, causing my hands to stop what they were doing.

"M-Mira?" I hesitantly asked when I slowly turned to face her. What I saw made me fear for what was to come next.

* * *

**A/N: Also I've written the first and second chapter a long while ago, but I was afraid to upload it. When I finally did I had to step away from the computer, very fearful of what people thought, but at the same time ready for what they had to say.**

**I don't know if I could respond to reviews like this, but, oh well:**

**FairyTail123: Thank you so much for your first review. It really meant a lot to me. I was literally jumping and giggling like a maniac in my room. Also sorry that it took so long.**

**Raelin Thaon: Thank you so much for you second review. I was kind of scared that only one person was giving me their comments and I got really happy that someone else added their opinion.**

**ruriha: Thank you for your review. I am also sorry that you had to wait. I love secret dating too, but the thing about keeping things a secret is that people are going to find out sooner or later whether you tell them or not. Also I agree that some stories over do it with Mira's matchmaking, but that's what makes her funny and the stories interesting, don't you think? And thank you for your suggestion, but I've already got everything planned out, I just need time to write them (nervously laughing). Maybe you could "unleash your imagination" on here too ;).**

**Paname: Thank you for your review as well. I know right! He is a hunk! A MAJOR HUNK! hehehe :).**

**Please don't be shy to review. :)**

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***From tumblr by ?**

****From tumblr by Anon**


	4. Relationships

**A/N: I didn't expect this chapter, but I didn't want the previous chapter being too long**. **Also, there's two conversations going on somewhere in the middle and I didn't want you guys to get confused, so I broke it up with the lines; I hope it helps! ****Enjoy! :D**

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**Relationships**

"M-Mira...?" I slowly turned to her.

She was stoic for a moment. Then suddenly bust out in tears, facing her back toward us.

"M-M-Mira? W-Why are you crying?" Bickslow panicked.

Then, all of a sudden, I saw him quickly bend down then straighten back up with Plue in his hands and stretched his arms forward, offering the "little dog" to Mira, "He-Here, cuddle with Plue. He always helps Lucy feel better."

"Pun, Pun." Plue nodded, wobbling in Bickslow's hands.

"Why did you only tell us this now?" Mira sobbed out, refusing Bickslow's offer, after she turned back around, looking at us with glassy eyes and a tear-stained face.

Bickslow relaxed, sitting Plue on the counter, when he saw that Mira had stopped crying; then we both looked at each other, then to her again.

"Because I thought that you guys would criticize him, like how my team mates did at first." I explained first.

"Yeah, and I thought that the girls would beat me to a pulp for using Lucy as one of my "toys"." Then I saw him visibly pale. _'He must've remembered the threats my team gave him.' _ I lightly chuckled.

"Can't have my deviously handsome face ruined. That's what attracted Cosplayer here to me in the first place." He added smugly, slinging his arm back around my shoulders.

"They liiikkkkkeeeeee each other." I heard Happy pipe in, peeking from behind Bickslow's shoulder with his hands over his mouth, as if trying to contain his laughter.

"Shut up, Cat!" I deeply blushed, trying to make a grab for him. But Bickslow tightened his arm around my shoulders when Happy flew off pleading to be saved.

"Stupid, talking cat." I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest.

Hearing a hysterical laughter, I snapped my head to Bickslow to see that he was the one laughing, head to the ceiling and his tongue out. I continued to watch him until he calmed down. When he finally did, I gave him a scowl as he looked down at me. He grinned, then kissed my nose, magically softening my features. I turned away from him with a slight blush. All of a sudden, I felt his tongue lick my cheek slowly, sending chills throughout my body.

"Eewwww, Bickslow!" I shrieked, desperately wiping his saliva off with my sleeve, as I heard him chuckle. When my cheek was dry, I punched him in the stomach, causing him to double over, groaning in pain. I gave him a 'hmph', then snapped my head to the bar, while crossing my arms back over my chest, as I ignored his groans of pain.

"Awww, you guys are so cute together." I heard Mira squeal and saw her jumping up and down excitedly, "And you two really balance each other out." She added, displaying a scale with her hands.

Bickslow and I glanced at each other for a second before looking back at Mira, saying at the same time, "We do?"

She nodded, "Mm-hmm. Bickslow's carefree personality balances out Lucy's bossy attitude and vise versa. Don't tell me neither of you even thought about it?" We both shook our heads.

"You know Mira, now that you mention it, I totally see what you're saying." Cana acknowledged, nodding as well, "And let's not forget, that they're both mages who care deeply for their spiritual companions...and it seems to me like the little snowman and Bickslow's Babies don't have any problems with each other at all." She added, pointing past us to where Plue and the babies were, before taking a sip from her mug.

We all turned our attention to where Plue and the babies were. The exchange between the two was the most _cutest_ thing I've ever seen.

Plue picked them up one by one and stacked them on top of each other, as if they were blocks, creating a small top less pyramid; and to complete that pyramid, he climbed and stood on the top, doing a little dance and earning a light laughter from us. But being as wobbly as ever, Plue slipped to the side, making me gasp sharply, then in the blink of an eye, Bickslow's babies caught him right before he hit the ground; making a sigh come from the people at the bar.

"Oh my gosh, Plue, you scared me." I sighed as I cuddled Plue to my chest when the babies sat him down in front of me.

"Pun..." Plue mumbled sadly against my arm as I leaned against Bickslow.

"Good job, Babies!" He praised, smiling at them as they settled themselves on the counter.

"Yeah, thanks guys." I thanked, giving them a smile too.

It surprised all of us (well, except for Bickslow) when they didn't repeat our words, instead they flew straight into our arms and nuzzled our chests'. And I heard Mira awwing at the display.

We stayed like that for what seemed like forever, but only a couple of minutes, when we heard another brawl about to happen.

"So, how did you guys start dating?" Levy asked, standing between me and Cana. The Babies pulled out of our embrace to float above us, as I rested Plue on my lap again.

"I want to know too!" Lisanna chimed in from behind Bickslow. Then I saw Mira rest her elbows on the counter and leaned her head in her hands, like she was waiting for the story to begin. And even though Cana was busy drinking, I'm positive she also wanted to know as well.

So, I told them the story; from the beginning to the end. They gasped, laughed, 'aww'ed, and I think I saw Levy side-glance at Gajeel, who was too busy fighting to notice, every other minute. _'Aww, Levy...' _I frowned.

Even Bickslow listened in on our story. Being a guy, he never considered how our first kiss really affected me, but when he heard about the "wet dreams" I was having, I felt him brush his lips on my ear and whisper, huskily, "You must've really liked me, huh, _Cosplaaayerrrrrr_?" He dragged out, then bit my ear lightly as he was pulling away. I tried my best to control the blush from making its appearance, however...

"So, Lucy, how many hickies did Bickslow give you?" Mira inquired nonchalantly, but I knew she could see the struggle I was in, trying to suppress my blush, which immediately exploded across my face; causing everyone at the bar to burst out laughing.

"Three." Bickslow responded proudly, holding up three fingers, as I tried to compose myself from the embarrassment.

"Then where's the third one?" Cana questioned as she scanned my body, hoping to find it.

With a hesitant hand, I pointed to the middle of my chest, where the third was placed.

"Oooh, no wonder you're wearing a turtle neck, Lu." Levy pointed out.

"Yeah..." I replied sheepishly, by now the bright blush had faded to a mere tint.

"Mira! Beer!" We all suddenly heard from the entry way, and turned to see Laxus make his way over to the bar. Also making the guys stop their second brawl they had today.

"Make that two, Mira." Bickslow also requested, after he nodded his head to Laxus. Laxus nodded back then ruffled my hair when he passed by to stand next to Cana, waiting for his order, as I tried to fix my slightly messed up hair.

"Better make that three more for me, Mira." Cana chuckled, finishing off her third drink today, but I'm pretty sure she had a few more before I entered the guild.

"Doesn't anyone say 'Please' anymore?" I heard Mira mumble out, sighing, "Kinana, can you give me a hand?" she asked when Kinana was heading back to the bar.

"Sure, Mira." Kinana smiled, following Mira to the back to get the beverages.

"Hey Laxus, did Lucy and Bickslow tell you that they were a couple?" I heard Cana ask curiously.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, they told us a long time ago. Why?" Laxus responded solemnly, leaning on the counter.

"Wait, who's 'us'?" Levy furrowed her eyebrows together, looking at me.

"Uh...heh...well, we kind of, sort of, told our teammates the day after we started dating, so...yeah...heh heh..." I replied, laughing nervously as I scratched the back of my head.

Just then, Mira and Kinana came back with the drinks in hand. Kinana gave a mug to Laxus and two mugs to Cana and Mira gave Cana her last mug and passed one to Bickslow. I heard Laxus grunt his thanks before heading over to the Thunder Legion's table, Bickslow gave her a brief nod, while Cana actually thanked Mira with _words_. _'Must be a guy thing.'_ I shrugged.

"I'm gonna go sit with Laxus, 'kay?" Bickslow asked eagerly.

"Okay." I nodded, smiling softly up at him. He grinned back and pecked my cheek, before grabbing his drink and followed Laxus to the table with the babies trailing behind him. After he left, the girls around me were all giving me a look.

"What?" I questioned, looking at all of them.

"Doesn't that bother you, Lu?" Levy inquired, hearing the concern in her voice.

I stared at her for a second before deeply sighing, slumping my shoulders, "Of course it does, Levy. There are times when my mind can't wrap around the idea that Laxus always comes first. At first, I didn't mind it 'cause we were keeping this whole thing a secret, but as time went on, when Laxus was in town, he wouldn't hesitate to just up and leave without telling me." I felt the burning sensation behind my eyes as I remembered those times. Whether it was the break of dawn or the stroke of midnight, Bickslow would leave like he forgot that I was right beside him. Like I never existed. And it hurt. By now the tears were threatening to fall when I continued softly, "And the life threatening missions that he goes on..." I trailed off, shaking my head and closing my eyes tightly, not wanting to think about what would happen to him.

"Lucy..." I heard Mira and Levy say softly.

I sniffled before lifting my head and continued, softly smiling, "But, even though that fact bothered me, I learned to let it go. Laxus is his leader, the guy he idolizes, and his best friend. I would _never_ dare to break the bond that they have just because I'm his girlfriend." I glanced at the Thunder Legion's table and stared at Bickslow. He and Laxus were deep in a conversation, then Laxus playfully punched Bickslow in the shoulder making him let out a chuckle. I turned back toward the girls to see that they all had tears in their eyes, I even saw Cana roughly wipe her eyes when I glanced over to her.

"Wow Lucy, you're really understanding." Lisanna admired as she wiped her eyes. A light blush crept to my cheeks when she said that.

"It's a gift, really." I responded jokingly, joining in their fit of giggles.

When the giggles died down, I heard Erza question from Lisanna's direction, "Lucy? I've wanted to ask, but why Bickslow?"

"Me too. Bickslow's my teammate, but he's also arrogant, annoying, big mouth, childish-" Evergreen started listing, appearing behind me.

"Okay Evergreen, I think we get it." Mira interrupted, giggling.

"But I'm only at the C's." She protested, then continued her list, "Carefree, a dick at times, he also has a big-"

"EVER!" I shrieked, immediately throwing my hands to cover her mouth as a beet red blush exploded throughout my face. The guild suddenly became quiet as I saw them snap their heads to the bar once again.

"...E-er...hi..." I forced a smile and nervously laughed.

Erza then walked in front of us, blocking us from everyone's view, and said loudly, "There's nothing to see here, and there's nothing wrong with Evergreen." From the corner of my eye, I saw Elfman slowly sit back down with uncertainty written over his face as he stared at Evergreen's back,_ 'No way...'_ I thought. Erza continued as I withdrew my hands from Ever's mouth, "We're just discussing about feminine products, so go on about your business." I saw all the men get uncomfortable and then the guild filled with noise again. Erza turned around, closing the circle that had unexpectedly formed around me, and said, "Please continue."

Evergreen grabbed her chin in thought, trying to figure out where she left off, then it came to her, "Oh yes, right," she cleared her throat, "I was going to say that he also has a big ego...I forgot what I was going to say after that, but you get the point." She finished, snapping her fan open to cool herself. I started at her with wide eyes, _'She was gonna say "ego"? Oops...' _My face heated up in embarrassment this time.

"So, why Bickslow, Lucy?" Mira repeated.

I grabbed my chin and hummed in thought. _'...To be honest, I really don't know myself.'_

"I don't know..." I said honestly, "It just...sort of happened. I can't really explain it, but there's just something about him that makes my heart-throb. It could be the way that he's actually a caring and sweet guy behind the visor he wears, maybe because I act like myself when I'm around him, or maybe it has something to do with our first kiss-I don't know. All I know is, that my feelings for him aren't fake."

"Awwwwwww." I heard from all around me.

"To be honest though, I thought that Lucy would end up with Natsu and Bickslow with Lisanna." Mira said.

"Why would you think that Mira?" Lisanna questioned, hearing her voice shake a little.

"Because Lucy's Natsu's partner and he always casually breaks into her apartment for food, not to mention that Natsu was the one to bring Lucy to Fairy Tail. And since Elfman and Evergreen are getting "married"-," Mira put air quotes around 'married'.

"We were lying!" Evergreen interjected with a faint blush on her cheeks. But Mira continued as if she hadn't heard her.

"So I thought you would be interested in Bickslow, but I was terribly wrong." She sighed in disappointment, grabbing an empty cup to polish while she sulked.

Then I took that chance to secretly poke Lisanna in the side to get her attention. When she turned her head to me, I motioned her down and whispered, "Natsu likes you." Her eyebrows wrinkled in the middle when she looked at me, I ushered her back down, and continued, "And I already knew that, you like him from the story Mira told me about being husband and wife when you guys were little kids." I pulled back to see that she was blushing a little.

* * *

"So does that mean that you like Freed, Mira?" I heard Cana assume as she pushed her mug aside.

Mira paused her polishing to look at Cana, "What would make you think that Cana?"

* * *

"See? With this knowledge you can-...what's wrong?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows, when I saw Lisanna shake her head.

* * *

"Well, you know, since Elfman and Evergreen clearly have a thing for each other and you thought Lisanna would be interested in Bickslow, I just put two and two together and figured that you're interested in Freed. That and because you were straddling him after your battle during the Fantasia battle." I heard Cana state, a mischievous tone in her voice.

* * *

"We'll be right back." I whispered to Erza. She confirmed with a nod. I handed her a sleeping Plue and got up from my seat to guide Lisanna to a secluded area of the guild, in the back by the stage.

When we got there, Lisanna had her head down and said, barely above a whisper, "During my time in Edolas...I dated Bickslow..." Right then, I felt a sharp pain stab me within my chest, "The Edolas Bickslow was a gentleman: caring, sweet, polite, and nice to everyone, a complete opposite from the Earthland Bickslow. He made me feel like...like I was a princess." Now I felt my stomach churning and the pain increasing as the tears started coming, Lisanna continued, "I'm sorry Lucy, I thought I could keep it a secret and eventually forget it, but when you told us about your feelings for Bickslow, all the memories from Edolas came rushing into my head like a flood. The times that he would playful tease me, when he would help me with the orders, give me anonymous roses or stuff animals, even poetry, that time he protected me from the guys that were about to rape me, the first time he asked me to dinner, our first kiss...I remembered it all, Lucy." I couldn't hold back the sob that escaped my throat or the tears that were now flowing freely down my cheeks. With her head still facing the ground, I saw her own tears falling and her shoulders, shaking, as if trying to suppress her sobs too, "He was the one that helped me adjust to my Edolas life and made everything happy during my time there..." She sniffled, "But deep down...I could never forget Earthland..."

"Lisanna..." I croaked out. But she continued.

"...Then before Natsu came to Edolas, Bickslow had already left on a mission, with the rest of his team. That day, conflicting emotions filled within and then I pretended that I was as confused as the rest of the Edolas Fairy Tail, so I could spend whatever time I had left with them..." After that, she broke out into wild sobs. I embraced her as she cried and sobbed into my shoulder, while I was desperately holding my own at bay. However, the last thing that she sobbed out, broke me, and I joined her, in her wild sobs and cries, on her shoulder; she mumbled, "...I didn't even say goodbye to him, Lucy."

We stayed like that until hiccuping and sniffling were heard between us, I rubbed her back trying to calm her down further. It seemed to work when I didn't hear any hiccups or sniffles.

"I'm so sorry, Lucy." I heard her mumble against my shoulder.

"You don't have to be sorry, Lisanna. You didn't expect any of that to happen. You were just living in the now...it's okay." I explained, removing my head from her shoulder, so I could see her expressions.

"But how will I forget these memories and move on?" Lisanna asked.

I deeply sighed, "Truth is, no one can forget about their past, it only makes us who we are today. But, if you want to move on, then think about what needs to be done today to help you do just that." I stared straight into her eyes as she thought it over.

"...Well..." She trailed off.

"What is it?" I pressed.

"It's gonna sound weird, but...is it okay...if I break up with Bickslow?" She asked sheepishly, avoiding my gaze as she crossed her hands behind her back and drew circles with the tip of her shoe.

"The..._Edolas_ Bickslow?" I questioned, bringing my brows together, "I don't know how you can-"

"No, Lucy," she interrupted, lightly chuckling, "_Your_ Bickslow." She emphasized clearly.

"...Oh...er...yeah, sure. I guess that's okay. I mean, whatever helps you move on, sure." I shrugged, but agreed to the idea.

"It's crazy, isn't it?"

"No no no, it's not crazy, just kind of weird, but if it helps you then let's give it a shot." I encouraged.

"Oh my gosh, really?! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lucy!" She cheered and eagerly hugged me while jumping up and down.

I giggled at her enthusiasm, "Okay, so I gotta know, how's the Edolas Bickslow different from the Earthland Bickslow, appearance wise?" I asked when she pulled away.

"Oh, _totally_ different," she giggled, "I'd say an even more of a hunk than the Earthland one." We both giggled at that.

"How?" I giggled out.

"Hehe, Okay, so his hair was styled into a smaller mohawk and he didn't have patches of hair sticking out from the sides and it was slightly gelled **(A/N: Think fro-hawk)**. Then his tattoo on the upper part of his face, was gone; I almost didn't recognize him at first until he introduced himself. Also he wore glasses instead of his visor. Hmmm...what else?...Oh! His clothes were also different. He always wore a dress shirt with a white wife beater underneath and faded jeans with some dress shoes." While she was saying all this, I mentally took notes.

"Whoa, are you sure we're talking about the same Bickslow here?" I asked, to make sure she wasn't describing somebody else.

She nodded vigorously, "Mm-hmm. I know right, it doesn't sound anything like him, but that's Edolas." And I burst out laughing with her at that realization.

When our laughter died down, she immediately pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

"Thank you, Lucy." She whispered. A smile slowly spread across my lips and I hugged back. Gently pulling away from our embrace, we looked at each other for a second before we giggled.

"Come on, let's go back to the bar, I think the girls might be worried about us." She nodded, then we headed back to the bar.

Just as we were about a couple of feet away, Cana leaned back in her stool and shouted, "Where've you guys been? You missed all the juicy stuff."

I furrowed my eyebrows while Lisanna inquired, as we joined into the gossip circle, "What kind of 'juicy stuff'?"

Cana smirked, took a glance at a blushing Mira before she took a deep breath, but before she could say anything, Mira's hand darted over Cana's mouth and she stuttered out, "I-I-I like F-Freed..."

As she looked down, she released her hand from Cana's smirking mouth. Then Lisanna and I bombarded her with questions a second later.

After the endless questions had finally ceased, we stayed at the bar just casually talking. One by one the guild slowly became empty and, to our surprise, it was already closing time for the guild. The only people who were left were Lisanna, me, Erza, Ever, Levy, Cana, Mira, a sleeping Natsu and Happy, a sleeping Gajeel and Pantherlily, Elfman, who was nodding off, Bickslow, and Laxus, who were still surprisingly awake, but occasionally yawned. The Babies were sleeping, Plue had already left to the Celestial World when I came back from the talk I had with Lisanna, and Mira insisted Kinana to retire for the night, as she saw her constantly yawning.

While Mira closed down the bar, all the girls went over to their respective teammate or the guy they're interested in and woke them up. I saw Erza go over to Natsu and Happy and hit them on the heads to wake them up, but it only managed to get Happy awake. Natsu mumbled something before he went back to sleep, so she just sighed and picked him up then headed out the doors with Happy tiredly floating behind. Levy shook Gajeel awake, after she took Pantherlily into her arms. It didn't her long until he finally awoke and followed her out the door. Lisanna and Evergreen, both kindly woke Elfman, which surprised me a bit since he and Ever always argue and insult one another. A blushing and hiccuping Cana went over to Laxus and, to my surprise, plopped on his lap and demanded that he take her home. What surprised me even more, was that Laxus just sighed, clearly too tired to put up a fight, and picked her up, bridal style, and headed out the guild. Cana just giggled and waved at us as she left.

I grabbed Bickslow's forgotten visor before walking over to him. He stretched in his seat before standing up and said, "Ready?" I nodded, and we headed to the door, the Babies floating after us.

Lisanna, Evergreen, Elfman, Bickslow and I waited for Mira to close the guild down. When she appeared, we all said our goodbyes and bid each other a safe trip home. And when it came to Lisanna, I gave her a slip of paper with my _new_ address and instructions saying 'Be at the house by noon', then gave her a wink and ran to catch up with Bickslow.

* * *

**A/N: Please don't be shy to review.**


	5. Late at Night

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. I was really busy writing lyrics for my class; and let my tell you, it's not as easy as writing a story. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Late at Night**

When we arrived at our house, we kicked off our shoes and entered the bedroom. Bickslow and his babies fell/floated to their beds and were immediately fast asleep. I giggled, placing the visor on the dresser. I gently bit my bottom lip, _'I know it's late...and he's already sleeping, but...'_

Making my way beside the bed, I kneeled down and gently traced the tattoo on his face, whispering, "Bickslow...I'm gonna take a bath..." He stirred, "...you wanna join me...?" I saw one of his eyes open after that request. And with that, I removed my finger from his face and walked to the bathroom.

With every step I took, I swayed my hips until I closed the door. Then I hastily stripped myself of my clothes, clearly not as fast as Gray, and got surprised to see two towels hang on the rack when I made a grab for one, _'Today is just full of surprises...'_, and then started the water. When I reached the desired temperature, I plugged the drain, put in some floral scented body wash, then looked back to the door-it was still closed. I sighed in relief. Waiting for the tub to fill, I looked at myself for a second before I bent forward and started using my fingers to tease my hair, messing it up a little. Straightening back up, I looked at my work. I squealed excitedly at the perfect amount of volume, then grabbed the other towel and hopped on the counter, sitting myself by the door. Setting the towel down, I pushed my hair to my left shoulder, my head following at a comfortable angle.

Just then, Bickslow slowly opened the door with his head down, looking as if he was in trouble. Seeing his head slowly raise. He scanned my feet, up my toned calves, to the end of the towel where he lingered there for a second, then continued up to my slim waist, then lingered again at my breasts and at the lips, and as I finally saw his lust-filled eyes, I felt my core heating up. They looked almost hungry staring into mine. I had to control myself from squirming as he entered through the door and closed it with a soft click.

He licked his lips while taking a step forward, then grinned, increasing the heat I felt in my core, "About that bath...?"

I froze for a second then chuckled. Grabbing his shoulder, I leaned forward to claim his lips. Sliding my hand to the strap of his short mantle, I brought my other hand up to help undo it. With some difficulty, I finally had it undone. I separated our lips to pull that thing over his head, hearing the three latches pop in the process, and threw it to the ground. Then began untucking his shirt, eagerly wanting it to follow where his mantle lay. I felt his soft lips press against the crook of my neck causing my body to shiver as he reached behind to unwrap his belt. Once I heard the belt hit the floor, I hastily pulled the shirt over his head and joined it with the rest of his, much too complicated, clothes; while he took off the...skirt.

I felt my brow twitch slightly up when I looked down, then a smirk worked its way to my lips.

After the light blue fabric fell, he was standing there in his boxers.

"No tights?" I teased. Not that I was complaining or anything, but he usually wore gray tights under that skirt.

He lightly chuckled, "Shut up..." Then grabbed my neck and pulled me to his lips. I sighed in bliss when my hands come into contact with his bare chest. Then I wrapped them around his neck and opened my legs, just enough for him to fit. He nipped my bottom lip and gently sucked. Then he deepened the kiss. The faint smell of booze kind of turned me on and I moaned when I felt his hot tongue come into contact with mine.

I yelped when I was suddenly slid to the edge of the counter where my hips got roughly met with his. The action caused my legs to widen and increased the heat I felt in my core even more.

Needing to feel more of him, I leaned into him and tightened my grip around his neck and once I secured my legs around his waist, he immediately carried and pushed me up against the door. I released a loud moan from the impact then claimed his mouth once again.

As I tried to lift myself up a little, to get a better angle, I heard a low, unrecognizable sound. Unsure of what it was, I repeated the action and a much louder sound was heard. That sounded like a groan..._Bickslow's_ groan! _'Is my butt...?' _I thought as I slightly moved my hips from side to side.

He instantly pulled away, groaning, "You gotta stop that, Cosplayer." He panted, leaning his head against mine, "I can barely control myself."

"'Stop' what?" I innocently asked, moving my hips again while watching his face painfully contort.

"Lucy," he growled, seeing his jaw clench tightly; at the same time, snapping his eyes open and glaring at me, "I'm warning you."

I rolled my eyes, completely unfazed by his expression, then smirked, but it quickly fell when I heard the faint sound of running water, making me gasp, "The tub!"

Desperately wiggling out of his grasp, I carefully ran to the tub. Shutting off the water, just before it was about to overfill, I sighed.

Draining some of the water and plugging it again, I saw the water level suddenly rise. Looking to the source of the water changes, Bickslow casually sat there, relaxing, grinning with his tongue. Then he gestured for me to get in. I blushed, but complied to his unspoken demand. I sat on the rim of the tub, facing away from him as I removed the towel and hung it back on the rack. Covered my chest, I glided to the middle. With my back still facing him, I slowly eased myself into the water; all the while, feeling his eyes watching my every move, increasing the blush in my cheeks. His tub is slightly bigger than mine, so there was enough space for the both of us to fit.

Settling between his legs, I leaned back, but then immediately stiffened. _'Is that...? Is he...?! Where's his towel?!' _I inwardly panicked as I tried to relax against him. When I leaned back, his dick pressed right up against my lower back...and it was _excited!_

Before, I would keep our intimate actions to a bare minimum because Gajeel or Wendy would smell Bickslow's scent on me, but it was a struggle when I got horny. There were times where I would reach my limit and eventually had to relieve myself on the bed when Bickslow was on a mission or in the tub when he was home. But now that our secret is no longer a secret, we can finally do what every couple does in a relationship.

"Babe, relax...relaaaaaaaax..." I heard Bickslow pur in my ear.

_'Easier said than done.' _I scoffed, but it seemed to help some when he kissed my temple. I sighed as I closed my eyes. _'Thank Mavis, there's bubbles.'_

We stayed like that for a couple of minutes with his arms around my waist and his thumb drawing circles on my hip. I was starting to doze off until Bickslow splashed water in my face, waking me.

"Don't go sleepin' on me now, Cosplayer." He chuckled lightly.

"Sorry, today just took a lot out of me." I yawned.

"Well, it _was_ very eventful for you." He kissed my head.

I lightly chuckled, "And tomorrow's gonna be eventful for _you_." I reached behind to drape my hands around his neck.

"What do ya mean?" I looked up and saw that he had a confused expression.

I grinned, "Don't think about it too much." I softly pressed my lips to his, "We still need to bathe." He grinned back.

After a really long bath, coming out looking like raisins, we got dressed and dried our hair, then settled into bed and began drifting to sleep with me on Bickslow's chest.

"Night, Cosplayer." I barely heard him say.

"...You know, we've known each other ever since the Fantasia Battle, it took us seven years and a month to become a couple, we've been dating for more than a year, I moved in about three months ago, and not to mention, I won _both_ of our battles. When are you going to drop the nicknames?" I mumbled with my eyes closed.

"When are you going to give me half of the rent?"

"..."

He chuckled.

"Go to sleep already." I snapped.

"Okay, okay. Good night, Lucy."

"Night, Bickslow." A soft smile slowly appeared right before I fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Let me know what you think! :)**


	6. Bickslow's Makeover

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Bickslow's Makeover**

"Wakey, wakey, Sleepy head!" I shouted, already dressed in a navy blue halter top styled as a sundress dress, that Virgo gladly brought from the Celestial World for me, deciding to leave my hair down today. It was around 9:30 in the morning and Lisanna would be here in 3 hours to "break up" with Bickslow...or the Edolas version of him, but a certain _person_ was still asleep.

"Come on! Wakey, wakey!" I repeated, giving his shoulder a rough shake.

He groaned.

"Come on, babe! Wake. _Up!_" I repeated again, and emphasized my point by stripping the blanket from his body.

No reaction. Not even a little.

I huffed, crossing my arms and pursing my lips, "Fine, if I can't wake you, then maybe Aquarius can." I said and as I turned to grab Aquarius' golden gate key, I was suddenly jerked back by the wrist and on to the bed. Next thing I knew, my torso was pressed comfortably on top of Bickslow's while my hands were sandwiched right between us. My head laid on its side, so I was able to hear the rapid beating of his heart.

"I see that you're awake now." I retorted from my position, after I recovered from the sudden occurrence that just happened, while also fighting off the oncoming blush as it crept up my face.

"Not exactly. As you can see, my love, my eyes are still closed, so technically I'm still asleep." He stated, matter-of-factly.

"Then why are you talking? If you were _really_ asleep then you wouldn't have the ability to speak since your supposed to be unconscious." I argued, logically.

"I have somniloquy." He responded back; which was rather a lame excuse, I might add.

_'**Bull**.'_ I mentally growled out, clenching my teeth. I lifted my head from his chest and rested my chin on it, having the under view of his structured jaw, "Come on, Bix. We don't have time for this."

"Then kiss me."

I blinked, taking a moment for me to register his request, before I rolled my eyes, stretched my neck, and lifted myself up to give him one, "There. Now, get up!" I demanded, lifting myself up to a stand besides the bed again until he quickly brought me back down. I silently growled in annoyance.

"You know that's not what I meant, Cosplayer." He pointed out, as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

I pulled my hands from between our flushed bodies and used my triceps to lift my upper body, so I could glare diggers at him. Grinding my teeth, I began warning, "Bickslow...". At that, he raised himself up on his elbows and waited; his face just inches from mine, but still kept his eyes closed.

"Really?" I questioned, feeling my brow twitch for a brief second.

"Yup." He grinned, chuckling.

Getting so frustrated with his childish behavior, I abruptly conked my head with his as hard as I could. Pain immediately erupted at the center of my forehead once our heads made contact, and Bickslow just cackled at me when I fell against him and began to whimper and groan while tears pricked at the corners of my eyes from the intense blow.

"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea." I complained to myself, letting out another groan.

Bickslow continued his hysterical laughter, with his tongue out, while saying, "Did the Cosplayer Queen just try to harm her knight in shining armor by striking his head with her own?" he laughs out, "Hate to break it to you, baby, but my own Babies do that to me on a daily basis, so you're gonna hav'ta do better than that!"

"Shut up," I whined, "it really hurts..." With my upper body now supported against Bickslow's body, I raised a hand to finger the sensitive area. The pain was slowly subsiding, and now I felt lightheaded and my body went limb against Bickslow's, "I feel dizzy..." I indistinctively murmured.

Without know it, it suddenly became really quiet; Bickslow's maniacal laughing stopped. Then I felt a slight weight being placed on the back of my head and figured it was Bickslow's hand when he began stroking and running his fingers through my hair.

"Aww..." He cooed, then in a low husky voice, he said, "Don't worry, Cosplayer. I'll make you feel allllll better." My body tingled from the inside-out by his voice, anticipating for what he would do, but, at the same time, feeling nervous for what I thought he would_ actually_ do. Then I suddenly felt stupid for thinking that way because I trusted Bickslow and believe that he would never do that to me, so I knew that I had nothing to worry about. With my mind at ease and my nervousness withered away, I felt him raise himself up just enough to gently pull my head from his shoulder and place a kiss to the inflicted area, which was now feeling better already.

With my eyes still closed, I hummed blissfully and my chest fluttered at the action. Then the blissful humming turned to giggles as he suddenly started showering my face with playful kisses. He didn't leave any part of my face untouched.

Once he was satisfied that my **entire** face had been covered, he gave my forehead one last smooch before leaning against it with his own. I opened my eyes to, surprisingly, look upon deep red, amused filled eyes staring straight at me. I couldn't help the smile as it stretch across my lips nor the sudden urge to feel the warmth of his lips upon mine. With that intense desire, my body moved on its own accord as it just had to lean slightly forward to feel his lips at last.

Bickslow gladly welcomed it, considering his knowledge to how I would react whenever he does those things to me; always buttering me up and making my body crave him to get what he wants...

_'Dammit! He did it again!' _I realized, wanting to pull away. Then I figured that it was useless because he already got what he wanted: a morning kiss.

I eagerly asked him for entrance by sucking on his bottom lip, he granted it, and I could feel the slightest hint of his lip lift up in a smirk as he lowered us to the bed. We battled for dominance and, with a yearn to further take control, I won. So, with a change of pace, I moved against him agonizingly slow; putting every movement, every sensation at ease and concentrated on the amount of control I had over him, and making every action count. With everything moving so slowly, it would seem like the world was moving in slow motion, almost frozen to make this moment last forever, as well. So lost in the intensity of the kiss, I unknowingly had his hands above his head and traveled to his ear, licking and nibbling and sucking, hearing a sharp hiss through his teeth. After a couple more pleasure-filled hisses and groans, I went back to his mouth, giving him several butterfly kisses before pulling away, with a light blush and a bounding heart.

Resting against him, feeling his heart also bounding hard within his chest, my eyes fluttered open to see a flustered Bickslow, whose eyes were blinking open.

"Damn..." He breathed, "didn't know you had it in you, Cosplayer." My blush increased, extremely embarrassed to say anything, then he softly said, "I love you, Lucy."

I smiled softly, "I love you too, Bickslow." And as I sat up, I added, "And I would love you even more, if you got ready in less than 10 seconds."

Immediately, he shut his eyes and snored loudly, pretending to sleep.

I lightly chuckled, removing myself from him and held out my hands, "Come on." After waiting a couple of seconds, he eventually took my hands and I lifted him from the bed.

"Now, go freshen up, while I get your clothes." I ordered, as I pushed him toward the bathroom.

Once he shut the door, I shook my head, grinning, "He is such a child."

Going over to his closet, where he keeps his formal clothes, I searched for a dress shirt and shoes and laid them on the bed. Then to the dresser for faded jeans and a belt, just in case, placing those on the bed as well.

"Where are we going?" Bickslow asked from behind, making me jump and squeal in surprise.

"Holy Mavis, you scared me." I gasped, grabbing my chest, feeling my heart panic as well.

He chuckled, "You did say if I got ready in under 10 seconds, you would love me even more."

"Oh...right..." I mumbled, before turning back to the outfit, "I feel like there's something missing." I thought out loud, grabbing my chin. Then I felt Bickslow's head rest on my shoulder as he gazed at the outfit.

"Why don't you try it on? Then I can find out what's missing." I suggested after a full minute passed. Bickslow had already gotten bored after 5 seconds, so to entertain himself, he wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzled into my neck, inhaling my scent.

"What's missing is the heat of your body pressed up against mine." He pulled me closer and pressed his lips to my faded hickey covered neck, making his point.

"I'm serious!" I shrieked as I ran out of his embrace to grab the shirt and shoved it right in his face, "Just...put it on..." I then murmured, hiding my flustered face behind the fabric and staring at the ground.

"Okay, okay." He chuckled as he took the shirt from my outstretched hand. Then I turned around, so he could slip on the rest of his clothes.

"You can turn around now, Cosplayer."

When I did, I felt my heart skip two beats and my cheeks heat up, but fought to keep it just a shade of pink, and failed miserably.

"Wow...Lisanna was right. The Edolas Bickslow _was_ a total hunk." I murmured to myself.

"Huh?"

"Uh...I said, 'Maybe you _are_ a little drunk.' How many drinks have you had?" I questioned, lying through my teeth. And also put my hands on my hips to act like I was suddenly mad.

"Uhh...1." He lifted his hand sideways.

I furrowed my brows, "You mean 4?"

"No, this is 1."

"No, it's 4. You have 4 fingers up." I turned his palm out toward me, so 4 fingers were showing.

"I only had 1." He turned his hand sideways again, showing the number "1".

"You had 4." I held up 4 fingers of my own.

"1."

"4!"

"1!"

"4!"

"Actually, it was 14." I looked at our hands and from my perspective it made the number 14.

"Wha...Ugghhh, nevermind! We don't have time for this! I need to get you ready before Lisanna comes in..." I glanced at the lacrima clock behind him, "2 and a half hours!"

Taking a look at the outfit again, I replayed Lisanna's description of the Edolas' outfit. _'The shoes, jeans, shirt-,'_

"Oh, right, the white wife beater. Then the glasses." I ran over to the dresser again.

"Why is Lisanna coming over? Was this the reason today was gonna be "eventful" for me?" Bickslow inquired.

"Yup. And the reason she's coming over is because during her time in Edolas, Lisanna dated the Edolas Bickslow, your counterpart. She told me that just before our Natsu arrived at the guild, he had already left for a mission and when she left with us that same day, she left without...even saying goodbye to him." I explained, finishing softly, as I felt the tears prick at the corners of my eyes as I stood by the dresser, but I gave a little cough to cover it up and threw him the top before searching for his sunglasses, "Where are your glasses?"

"Over here, Lucy!" I heard Pappa shriek from the other side of the dresser.

"Oh, thank you, Pappa." I smiled when he gave it to me and hung it on the collar of my top, then walked to stand in front of Bickslow.

"So, why am I dressed like this?" He asked, as I buttoned his cuffs.

"Because the only way she can move on is if she broke up with him and since you're his counterpart with the same face and physical features-"

"You're trying to make me look like him...?" He finished.

"Exactly, so she can do just that." I finished buttoning his cuffs. Then he swiftly cupped my cheek, making me look at him.

"You're amazing, Lucy." He said softly.

I grinned, breathing a chuckle, placing my hand over his, "You only notice that now."

He chuckled, "I've always known. Right from the day I got brutally defeated by you." Then he leaned down to claim my lips and I stood on my toes to meet him the rest of the way in a passionate kiss.

"We're gonna have to cover your tattoo and shorten your hair later." I said nonchalantly after we pulled away.

"WHAT?!" He shouted, very fearful as he grabbed his hair.

"Don't worry, it'll still look the same, just shorter." I waved off, "She didn't say this, but...try tucking in your shirt." Then added feeling uncertain, before walking past him to get Cancer's key. Then I heard him whimper, so I sighed, "If it makes you feel any better, I'm gonna miss it too. I mean, what am I going to grab onto when we make-out." I mumbled the last part, blushing lightly, before clearing my throat, "Open! Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!"

"Cancer!" Said person appears.

"I need you to shorten his mohawk and shave off the patches of hair coming from the sides, and if you can, could you put some gel in there too?" I requested as I pushed a resisting and whimpering Bickslow in a chair that was placed in front of the mirror.

"You got it, baby!" Cancer replied. I caught Bickslow shoot him a glare.

"Hey!" I smacked his head, "Don't you glare at him! He always says that after a sentence; it's his thing. Now, wipe that look off your face!" Then I turned to Cancer, changing my tone, "Tell me when you're done, so I can start putting make up on him, 'kay?"

"M-make up...?" Bickslow echoed.

I turned to him, "Just relax. It'll be over in a blink of an eye, okay?" He hesitantly nodded and I heard him sigh when I turned my attention back to Cancer.

"You got it, baby!" Cancer smirked.

While he was getting that done, I got the foundation and brushes ready. This liquid foundation is rare to come across and very expensive, at least a million jewels, but I got it for free on one of my solo missions. It changes color to match the tone of the users skin, wherever it's placed; it also has a built-in concealer. Once it touches the user's skin, after a couple of seconds, it changes to the perfect shade of their skin tone. And the best part: it can even cover tattoos!

"What do you think, baby?" Cancer chimed in, turning to me.

I walked toward them and was completely astounded, "Oh. My. Mavis." I breathed out, then beamed at my Celestial Spirit, "It's perfect, Cancer! You did an amazing job, as always. Thank you!"

"Anytime, baby." And he disappeared in a mist of gold.

"Does he ever stop saying that?" Bickslow grumbled out.

"Yeah, like I said 'it's his thing'; every Celestial Spirit has their own saying." I stated, matter-of-factly.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't met all of your Spirits ever since we got together."

"Maybe later, we have..." I glanced at the lacrima again and immediately panicked, "less than an hour until she gets here! Here, apply this all over your tattoo and when your done, I'll blend it in." I said as I gave him the foundation, "Oh, and don't put too much in one area, the brush will do that for you." I quickly added.

Bickslow looked nervously at it before hesitantly doing as I said. Watching him apply the foundation was the most funniest thing ever, but I bit my lip to resist from laughing out loud. When he was finished and the foundation changed to his skin color, I took the brush, that came with it, and glided it over his tattoo. The brush turned the liquid foundation into a powder, making it easy to spread.

"Aaaaaand done!" I checked the time. We finally finished with a little over 20 minutes to spare, "Now, to view the full product." I said, giving him the glasses to put on after he stood up. Then I took a step back and was blown away. _'This is how the Edolas version of Bickslow looked like? Lisanna was right, yet again. This person looks nothing like the Bickslow I know and love, a complete opposite.'_

"So...how do I look?" He grinned, tongue lolling out.

"Very...different..." I violently shook my head, "Okay, now that we got that done, it's time to turn you into a gentleman." Then grabbed Capricorn's key, "You've met Capricorn, right?"

"Is he that goat liking man, wears a suit, and really uptight when it comes to proper manners?"

"Yeah...him." I rolled my eyes and started summoning him.

"Open! Ga-" My mouth was suddenly covered by Bickslow's hand, "**HMICKSOO!**(Bickslow)" I shoved him off, "You're not suppose to interrupt a Celestial mage when they're about to summon their spirit!"

"I'm sorry! But...I'd rather have my girlfriend teach me about manners than her spirit. No offense or anything!" He added quickly, having a tint of blush across his face.

"Then you should've told me." I sighed and forced Capricorn's gate closed, "When Lisanna gets here, behave like a gentleman; be nice, polite, considerate, kind, sweet, caring-"

"So, how I act when I'm with you, basically."

"...Kind of. Just remember: act the opposite from how you originally act and you'll be fine, okay?" He gave a firm nod, "Okay then, let's practice."

We practiced for the remainder of the time; improving his speech and his manners. There were times when he acted too much like a "gentleman", if you know what I mean. Then there was a faint knock on the door, I paused, it sounded again, a little louder.

I gasped, "She's here! Hurry! Get the door, and remember: become your opposite." I reminded, while pushing him out the bedroom door and stuck my head out a second later only to have his lips crash onto mine and, just as fast as it came, he pulled away to get the door. I stayed, rooted to the ground, staring at his back until Lisanna hesitantly entered the house, stunned, and then I retreated back in the room.

"I hope this doesn't bring Lisanna a lot of pain." I peeked out, and saw Bickslow and Lisanna standing across each other.

"Bickslow!" I heard his babies cheer from behind. I quickly shushed and grabbed them before they rushed out.

"Hold on!" I whispered/yelled, "Lisanna never mentioned the Edolas version having totems floating around him, so you guys have to stay here."

"But Lucy...!" Peppe whined, his face matching what he said.

"No 'but's!" I scolded, still in hushed tone, then glanced outside to see Lisanna talking, "You'll just have to wait until they're done." I peeked again and saw that Bickslow had said something to make Lisanna laugh. I raised a brow, suspicious of what they were talking about.

"What are they talking about?" I voiced out, narrowing my gaze at them before slowly closing the door, tearing away from the scene.

I laid on the bed, waiting about 10 minutes, before I heard my name being called. I got up and cautiously stuck my head out, to make sure I was actually being called or they just mentioned my name, and saw that Lisanna was just heading out the door. Glancing over to Bickslow, he waved me over with a nod. Before I could take a step, his babies zipped passed me cheering his name, as always. Lisanna heard and stopped outside.

"You're leaving already, Lisanna?" I asked, as I walked up the hallway to stand near Bickslow.

She turned around, "Yeah..." It sounded like she wanted to say more, but she just trailed off.

"...Soo...h-how'd it go?" I hesitantly asked. I didn't get an answer, instead Lisanna looked straight in my eyes for a moment, then...

"...Honestly, I was completely starstruck by the fact that you gave Bickslow a makeover; he looks exactly like the Edolas version. Nice job!" She gave me a thumbs up, "And for that, I thank you; you gave me the final push to move on. I think after some time, I might have the confidence to ask Nastu out or something..." She blushed lightly, looking down.

"Ohoo! What's this? Is something goin' on between you and Natsu?" Bickslow grinned, letting his tongue hang out and leaned in toward Lisanna, hands on his hips, "Natsu and Lisanna, sittin' in a tree."

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" His babies continued.

_'Man, does that bring back some memories.'_ I giggled, seeing Lisanna's face become more flustered.

Then I began singing, "First comes love, then comes marriage," And Bickslow and the babies sing along the last part with me, "THEN COMES A BABY IN A BABY CARRIAGE!" We finished, laughing out when Lisanna turned the same color as Erza's hair.

"Lucy!" She shrieked.

"I...I'm sorry, L...Lisanna." I said, between laughter, "I...j-just couldn't help m-myself. Whew. And I'm always here to help. After all, what are friends for." I smiled at her, once my laughter settled down.

She smiled back, "You guys want to head to the guild now? Mirajane's throwing a party for you two and she'd be devastated if you didn't come. The whole guild's going to be there."

"Sure-"

"Actually, would it be fine if we went at a later time? I'd like to take Lucy out on our first date." Bickslow interrupted.

"D-d-d-date...?" I stuttered, getting flustered as I gazed up at him.

"Of course." The softness in his voice and the way he gazed right into my very soul sent a shiver down my spine and a flutter in my heart.

"O-o-okay, I'll go tell Mirajane then. Uh, have fun on your date! Bye! And thank you again, Lucy!" I barely heard Lisanna say as she gently slammed the door on her way out, but I was too mesmerized by Bickslow's intense gaze to reply.

"...You do know that we just made Lisanna uncomfortable, right?" I mentioned softly, still looking at him.

"Uh-huh..." He replied nonchalantly.

"You don't care at all, do you?"

He grinned, "Nope. This stuff comes off, right?"

I laughed at his sudden change in topic, "Yeah, it came with a magical brush that acts as a mop and brushes it off, but you can just wash it off with soap if that's easier for you."

"'Kay, be right back." He said, running to the bathroom. I nodded, sitting myself on the couch. Then my mind flew back to the date we were about to go on.

"I wonder what he has planned. Has he told you guys anything?" I asked the babies.

"Nope."

"Not at all, Lucy." Poppo then Peppe said.

"Oh." I sighed, disappointed at the fact that I couldn't get anything out of them. Then Bickslow appeared with his tattoo showing again and no glasses, "Where are we going?"

He chuckled, untucking his shirt, "Someone's eager."

"I'm just curious." I pouted, crossing my arms.

"It's a secret." He stuck out his tongue, winking, "Come on, you're gonna love it."

Just like he said, I did love it. It was simple, but enjoyable. With his babies silently tagging along, we went to a fancy restaurant, since we were somewhat dressed up, for lunch and, being the gentleman that he is, he offered to pay. After, we walked hand-in-hand to the Magnolia South Gate Park, where the babies flew us to one of the branches in the giant tree, so we could have some privacy. We spent almost three hours talking about random things and just relaxing in each others warmth. When it was sunset, we left the park and went to the guild, as promised. True to Lisanna's words, the whole guild was present, even Gildarts, who was currently showering Cana with fatherly love at a table. Like always, the party was intense and lasted all night; resulting in major hangovers and exhausted bodies all over the guild floor. Well, at least one good thing resulted from the party: Mirajane and Freed, Levy and Gajeel, Evergreen and Elfman, Cana and Laxus, even Happy and Carla, and Juvia and Gray, all of them got together, so in a way this event was for them too.

A week had passed since then, the following couples are still going strong and Lisanna had enough confidence to confess to Natsu and he agreed, thankfully not completely as dense to her feelings as everyone thought he was. The next day, Mira decided to throw a pool party this time, hoping for an easier clean up after, but ended up being the longest clean up job ever.

_"I can't believe it's been this long since I joined Fairy Tail. It feels like just yesterday, I met Natsu and Happy, and it was dumb luck that they were apart of the very guild I've dreamt about the entire time; it's almost too amazing to believe." _I glanced at my guild mark and smiled softly before continuing, _"My team and I are doing okay, if you call destroying half of the town 'okay', but I guess that's just one of the perks of being a Fairy Tail wizard._

_My novel is still a work in progress; I have no idea when I'll be done." _ I laughed at myself, _"Anyway, how are you both doing? I'm doing fine, well, more or less, but fine all the same. Bickslow's doing good, too. Oh, and we finally revealed our relationship to everyone! They were pretty shocked, but then ecstatic and threw us a big party the next day. And because of that, there were countless of couples forming that night and after a week, Lisanna and Natsu; she needed a push before she could move on from her pervious relationship._

_It's been so long, I wish you guys were here...to see this happening. I miss you both so much, but even though you both are not physically with me, I know that you will always be here, right beside me, in my heart, in my dreams, and most of all, in my memories._

_I love you, Mom._

_I love you, Dad._

_Goodnight._

_Love, your daughter from Fairy Tail, Lucy._

_P.S. Bickslow says hi and goodnight."_

* * *

**A/N: Done!**

**.**

**..**

**...**

**..**

**.**

**...Or am I?**


	7. Epilogue

**A/N: Hello!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Epilogue**

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

At this time only the dimly lit streets and the moonlight glowing in the dark sky were the only source of light outside. The body heat radiating right beside me kept the chill of the night air from touching my skin, but at the same time sending shivers down my spine. Such a peaceful and quiet atmosphere was almost to good to be true.

_"Pick Up!...Answer it! Answer it!...Pick Up! Pick Up!..."_ I vaguely heard the cheering of Bickslow's Babies coming from his communications lacrima. I did say '_almost_ to good to be true.'

With eyes still closed, I hastily rolled over Bickslow to the vibrating lacrima on the night stand; feeling for it as it continued to ring. Once I finally made contact with the contraption, I placed my head on Bickslow's chest, hearing the steady beat of his heart, and answered the noisy little thing, "Hello...?"

"Whoa! Is that you, Blondie?" Laxus asked.

I lifted my head, just enough to shoot a glare at Laxus through my bangs, "What do you want, you spark plug?"

He snickered, "'Spark plug'?" He shook his head, "Pass the lacrima to Bickslow, would ya?"

I scoffed, but gave the device to Bickslow by colliding it to his forehead, "Bickslow!" He grunts, "Laxus." When he took it, I rested back down on his chest, trying to fall back to sleep.

"Laxus? Ugh...what is it, man?" He croaked and draped his arm around my shoulders, his thumb rubbing circles, which was slowly drifting me back to sleep.

**BICKSLOW'S POV**

"It's time." Laxus simply said. I mean, I know I asked him for help, but it's _wayyy_ too early.

"What? Right now?" I questioned.

"Yeah, now." Laxus confirmed.

"Where?"

"Not that far."

"How long will it take?"

"Depends. Just hurry, we leave in 30."

"Alright. Later." There was a beep and the screen turned black. I placed the lacrima back on the stand then turned to my already fast asleep lover of 2 years now. _'Has it really been 2 years? Man, I can't believe that it's already our anniversary.' _Without realizing it, I felt a smile slowly creeping on my lips. I leaned forward to gently press my lips to her head. Then, as carefully as I could, I reluctantly moved from under her, so to not disturb her beauty sleep. Once I was free, I freshened up, got ready, and grabbed my already packed bag and exited the room. Knowing my babies were gonna follow me when I walked out.

**LUCY'S POV**

When I felt the warm sheets of the mattress from under me, I knew that Bickslow was already making his way out the door, leaving for a mission again. So after I saw his back leave the room, I waited a couple of seconds before rolling off the bed and quietly made my way toward him. As he reached for the handle, I made my presence known and acted as if I suddenly woke up, which I kind of did.

"Bix...?" He paused just as he was about to leave the house. I faked a yawn, pretending to rub the sleep from my eye with the back of my hand.

"Cosplayer...sorry, did I wake you?" He asked, his head turned to the side as he look at me from the corner of his eye.

_'...Well, at least he said "sorry". But it still hurts that he's leaving without telling me.'_ Dropping my head, I barely mumbled out, "...You're going to leave without even saying 'goodbye'...?"

"No, baby, It's not like that. I'm gonna be back later today, so don't worry." He clarified as he walked in front of me, seeing his shoes in my line of view and feeling his hands gently gripping my arms as he bent down a little to get a look at my face.

"You're still leaving without saying anything."

Seeing his hand go to my chin, he gently grabbed it and brought it up, his eyes looking straight into mine, "That's because I _know_ I'll be back later." I hadn't realize I was tearing until Bickslow leaned down and kissed them away. Then he glided his lips over to the tip of my nose and planted one there, causing a light giggle to sound within my throat when he playfully nipped it. Pulling away, he looked at me with a twinkle deep within his dark red eyes.

I sighed, then pecked his cheek, "Just be careful, okay?"

A grin spread across his face, "Okay." Then he leaned down to capture my lips in a soft kiss.

"Bickslow! Bickslow!" The babies suddenly called from above us. We broke the contact of our lips to look at them, "Let's go! Let's go!" They continued.

I let out a chuckle as they circled above us, then I turned to Bickslow, "You should go. Your team is probably waiting for you."

He looked down at me, nodded, and peaked my lips, "I'll be back later, 'kay?"

I nodded this time, smiling sadly up at him, "I know you will." _'No no no, don't cry, don't cry...'_

My eyes drifted close when he pressed his lips to my forehead. And just like that, he and his babies were out the door, leaving me standing there, staring at the same door he just left from.

"...Happy Anniversary..." The words traveling through the air, instead of upon the ears of the person that just left.

Feeling the sudden chill of the room, I wrapped my arms around my torso, already wishing Bickslow was back, and headed to my room; feeling as if lead were tied to my feet as I dragged them against the dark blue carpet. I crawled into bed and settled on Bickslow's side, smelling the natural scent of sandalwood on his pillow. Bringing the blankets up to my chin, I snuggled into the pillow and finally let myself fall asleep, yet again.

* * *

**10:45, AT THE GUILD HALL**

After having 6 more hours of sleep, I got ready and went to the guild hall. Walking through the doors, I paused and looked around. There were only a few tables occupied, but it wasn't as noisy as it usually was. I was about to double-check, to see if I'd mistakenly walked into the wrong place, until I spotted Mira and Cana chatting at the bar.

"Morning, guys." I greeted, interrupting their conversation.

"Good Morning, Lucy. Did you want your usual?" Mira asked.

"Actually, could I have some breakfast, Mira?"

"Sure. Do you want pancakes or eggs and bacon?" She suggested.

"Pancakes, please." I immediately answered.

She chuckled, "Coming right up!" Then left through the door that lead to the kitchen.

"Hey Cana, do you know what mission Laxus and his team are on?" I asked, turning my head to her.

"Mission? Laxus never mentioned-...oohhhh, _that _mission. Yeah, he said something about leaving early to go on a mission that was like an hour away or something." She said, finishing off her mug by slamming it on the counter and making a grab for another that was next to the empty one. I was about to ask her another question when Mira came through the door, carrying a plate high above her head.

"Here you go, Lucy. Two stacks of chocolate chip pancakes, topped with a couple of slices of strawberry and whipped cream, AND bathed in a thin pool of maple syrup." Mira presented. A growl instantly erupted from my stomach when she sat it down in front of me.

"You out did yourself, Mira! It looks so delicious, thank you!" I thanked before grabbing the fork and knife and digging into my favorite kind of pancakes ever.

"Oh, don't mention it, Lucy. So, what'd I miss?" She asked.

"Not much. I just told Lucy that Laxus and the others are on a mission like everyone else." I heard Cana tell Mira. Inconspicuous to the wink they exchanged.

"Ohhh, rent money must be due then if they're all out on missions, including Nab, which is weird." I shrugged, taking another bite of this delicious breakfast.

"Yup." Cana said, taking several gulps of her beverage.

"Wait...isn't _today_ your anniversary, Lucy?" Mira asked, filling Cana another beer. I paused for a second, then slowly continued to cut myself another piece.

"...Yeah, but why should I care? I mean, it's not like we've been together for 2 years, 4 months, 15 days, 10 hours, 55 minutes, and-" I glanced at the clock behind Mira, "-32 seconds and counting, but really? Who's counting?! Not ME?!" I growled out, before stabbing the piece, I previously cut, and shoving it into my mouth. The people, who hadn't left for a mission, were probably giving me weird looks, but I didn't care. I was hurt, frustrated, worried, and **furious** that Bickslow left and forgot the day of our anniversary..._**AGAIN!**_

**CANA'S POV**

"Mira, calm. _Down_." I emphasized, through clenched teeth.

After Lucy had just said that, I immediately looked toward Mira and she was already glowing a dark aura that signified that she was pissed off and about ready to unleash her Satan Soul...or worst. Not that I was complaining though, I wanted to beat the crap out of Bickslow too -if Lucy gives us the chance-, but we were holding back for a specific reason. And Bickslow was that reason. The day before their "mission" Laxus told me, and Freed told Mira, that Bickslow wanted to surprise Lucy on their anniversary and to do that he needed _our_ help -me and Mira. He said that we were the distraction and if she got angry we had to soothe her, instead of encouraging her into beating the shit out of him for "forgetting" about their day. Of course, I rejected. I cared about Lucy, way more than Bickslow, _that's_ for sure. She helped me out during my most vulnerable time, the S-class trials. She offered to become my partner, she helped me find the first master's tomb, she _forgave_ me for putting her unconscious after that, and even encouraged and, literally, _pushed_ me into confessing to Gildarts that he was my dad. She did so much for me that time, why not do the same for her by giving Bickslow a little punishment? And not the good kind. However, in the end, Laxus had his way. Who was I to deny those long, torturous, yet pleasurable hours of..."persuasion"? My body began reacting to the memory, but I quickly pushed that aside and focused on Mira.

"Mira, you need to calm down." I grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard, "I know you want to beat Bickslow to a pulp, so do I, but wouldn't it be worth seeing Lucy's face for what he has planned for her?" I reasoned, turning to Lucy, who was now as angry as us, clenching the utensils in her hands tightly, and shooting daggers at the half eaten pancakes as if they were Bickslow's head. Just imaging her all jumpy and bouncy with a radiate smile that stretched from ear to ear and would never waver was enough to calm me down. Mira calmed down some, but not enough.

I turned back to Mira, "If not for Bickslow, then do it for Lucy. Calm down for Lucy." That got to her.

She let out a deep sigh, as her dark aura disappeared along with it, "For Lucy." She smiled, placed her hand over mine, and faced me, "Thanks."

I nodded, released her hand, and turned to a still angry Lucy, who was in the same position from when I saw her. It's astounding that she never noticed what was happening around her.

**LUCY'S POV**

I was brought out of my daydreaming when I felt Mira's hands on mine, gripped very tightly that my knuckles turned white, and slowly loosened them. The stiffness in them was making it hard to drop the utensils, so Mira gently took them out and placed them, and my breakfast, on the side. As I slowly opened my hands, hissing from the slight pain that it brought me, I felt Cana's hand on my shoulder and turned to see her smiling.

"What?" I asked, looking between her and Mira, who was smiling at me as well.

"Are you okay? You looked like you were about to turn your breakfast into a soup." Cana said, chuckling lightly.

"Did you want some juice?" Mira asked.

"Yes, please. And I'm fine, now that I've cooled down some." I replied, gazing down at my hands. I gave a slight grimace at the imprint crescent-shaped moons that marked my palms, they were really deep. Then the orange juice came, bringing my attention away from my palms to thank her with a smile. Taking the cup with my hand and bringing it to my lips, I took a sip. The sweetness and tanginess of it passing through my taste buds and down my throat was a refreshing feeling. I set it back down, handling it with both of my hands. While that was going on, I still never took notice of the gestures exchanged between Mira and Cana.

"Well, now that you've relaxed a bit, do you know what you're getting for Bickslow this year?" Mira asked, putting her elbows up on the counter and resting her chin in her hands. I noticed that she does this when something interesting's about to be told. Cana removed her hand from my shoulder awhile ago to take a sip of her beer.

Feeling the blood rush straight to my cheeks, I looked down and stuttered, "U-u-umm..."

"Are going to give him something new?" Cana suggested, while drinking.

"K-k-kind of..." I stuttered out, the blood warming my ears and gradually increasing the longer I thought about my gift for him.

"Are you going to cosplay for him?" Mira suggested mischievously, wiggling her brow.

"MIRA!..." By now I'm pretty sure my face was the color of Erza's hair and steam started coming out of my ears.

"...You don't think..."

"...But isn't Lucy a..." I heard Cana then Mira start. After a couple of seconds I heard them both gasp as realization dawned on them.

"YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE HIM YOUR VIRGINITY?!" Both of them shouted at the same time, making it echo throughout the guild hall.

"SHHH! Keep your voices down! We have other people still around!" I indicated to the others behind me.

"Oh don't worry, Lucy. Nobody else's here, except us. Take a look!" Mira said, pointing behind me. I furrowed my brows together and took a look behind me and my jaw dropped. I saw that the once occupied tables were now empty with mugs still on the table and then realized that we had the hall all to ourselves.

"Oh my Mavis, how did that happen?" I asked, still staring at the empty hall.

**CANA'S POV**

_'They must've noticed Mira's aura and fearfully left as quickly as they could to avoid getting hurt. Dammit Mira!' _I thought, gulping down the rest of my drink.

"Maybe they suddenly realized they had something to do." I smoothly lied, while glaring at Mira as I put my now empty mug down and grabbed the other one that she previously filled.

'Sorry.' Mira mouthed as she took the empty one and filled it. I rolled my eyes and guzzled my drink down in frustration.

**LUCY'S POV**

"Huh, I guess it can't be helped." I shrugged and faced forward.

"So, what was last years gift?" Cana asked, already finishing her third one I saw today.

"Last year, I bought him that black cape." They both looked at me with a tilt of their heads, confusion written on their faces, so I elaborated, "It's sort of looks like Laxus' one with fur lining the shoulders and collar, the edges lined with metallic, and I, personally, added the heart emblem that holds everything together. I don't think he's ever worn it around, but when he goes on missions he always takes it. And, yeah, that's pretty much what I got him."

"So, you added the heart emblem because of your last name, right? Heartfilia?" Mira asked.

"Uh-huh." I nodded.

"Ooohhhhh." They both said in unison.

"Yup."

"Hey, we got the guild hall to ourselves. You guys thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Cana gave us her mischievious grin.

"Oh gosh, Cana." Mira muttered, rubbing her temple, "We are _not_ having a party without the Master's consent!"

"That's not what I was thinking at all." Cana pouted, sticking out her bottom lip.

"Well, that's good to know." Mira removed her hand from her temple, sighing in relief. _'Hold on a second, Mira...'_

"I was thinking of...A DRINKING CONTEST!" Cana cheered. _'I knew it...'_ I sighed.

"I'm alright." I said, chuckling nervously.

"Come on, Lucy. This'll help you loosen up."

"Just let me finish my juice first, then I'll think about it." I said, grabbing my juice.

"Ugh..." Cana grumbled.

**MIRA'S POV**

"Cana, can I speak to you for a second?" I politely asked, although inside asked-no, _demanded_ it.

"U-uhh, sure, Mira." Cana cooly said, but on the inside I knew she was afraid.

Turning to Lucy, I said, "We'll be right back, Lucy."

She nodded, finishing up her juice.

I brought Cana to the end of the bar and asked, politely as possible, "What the _**hell**_ do you think you're doing? We cannot allow Lucy to get drunk, she has to get ready for her date with Bickslow later. I mean, he even gave us instructions to give _to_ her." I said, waving the card Bickslow gave us in the air.

"I know! But don't you want her to loosen up before she goes? I know I would."

"Cana..." I warned.

"Miraaaaaaa..." She whined.

"What about Bickslow? He planned the entire thing..." I said, starting to feel bad for him.

"Fuck Bickslow! This is what he gets for pretending to forget about the most special day of Lucy's life!" She exclaimed, taking a swing of her drink. _'That's true..."_

I sighed, "I'm going to regret this later."

"WOOOO! DRINKING CONTEST!" Cana cheered loudly, "Mira, get the Master, quick!"

I sighed again, but then reminded myself that this was all for Lucy. _'Sorry, Bickslow...'_ And with that, I went upstairs to the Master's office to invite him to our drinking contest.

After the Master eagerly agreed and Lucy came back from the bathroom, we moved to one of the many open tables and started the contest. I didn't want to be in any part of it, so I was the one to constantly bring them their drinks. The contest was brutal, they started going slowly, eyeing each other out, then out of nowhere they gulped it down like water -Cana and Master. Lucy drank it down too, but at a slower pace, but she still kept going. I lost count on how many mugs they went through, but I believe they went through 4 and a half barrels. Surprisingly, Lucy held up until sunset. Right now, she was sitting on the bench, giggling, and having fun with every drink she chugged down. Just as I was about to give them another round, both doors to the guild hall slammed wide open so hard that the glass windows behind them shattered in the process.

"**CANAAAAAAAA!**" Laxus roared, sparks of lightning dancing across his body as he shot Cana a menacing look, who froze under his gaze. Freed and Bickslow on either side of him with equally menacing expressions upon their faces, which visibly makes me shake because they're hardly ever angry.

**NARRATIVE**

"Laxus, my boy, how was your mission?" Makarov slurred, when all three of them began making their approach. They ignored him. Quickly realizing that he wasn't needed, Master Makarov immediately made his way back to his office and firmly shut his door, sighing when he came face to face with the endless piles of paperwork he had to finish.

As the three men approached their respective woman and stood in front of them, the girls remained silent until Laxus decided to speak.

"What. The. _**FUCK?!**_" Mira was the only one to flinch, considering she was the only one sober. And being the eldest of the three girls, Mira decided to respond.

"It's my fault. I thought that Lucy needed to loosen up, so I decided that a few drinks would help her." She said confidently, looking at each of the men, who weren't sparing her a glance, except for her boyfriend.

"Mira, do not try to cover for Cana. Because you would never suggest drinking as a way to compose someone. Plus, Cana is Laxus' mate, so he instinctively knows that she is the cause of all this." Freed stated matter-of-factly. Mira looked down, ashamed.

"You had two instructions to follow, Cana: you had to distract and comfort Lucy. NOT HAVE A DRINKING CONTEST WITH HER! _Fuck_ Cana! What were you thinking?!" Laxus scolded, taking a step toward his heavily drunken mate.

"Oh, lighten up." Cana said, taking a sip of her beer until she burst out laughing, "Hahaha, get it? 'Lighten up'", she chuckled before mumbling, "I crack myself up." Then hummed as she finished up her beer and placed it on the side, then laid herself down on the table she was sitting on.

"CANA!" Laxus shouted.

"All right, all right! Sheesh. Lucy came and asked what kind of "mission" you guys were on because she thought that her _insensitive_ boyfriend had "forgotten" their anniversary again. And, even though she thought that, she still thought of him and decided to give him something that will finally make her a **WOMAN**. So, after we cooled her down, I suggested to do a drinking contest. And YES, it was to help her loosen up because she _needed_ it, so don't blame Mira and I for the things that Bickslow should've done in the first place. He had everything planned out, but just couldn't tell Lucy three simple words to at least ease her conscience that he actually remembered this year: 'Happy Anniversary, Lucy'." Cana, who was still laying on the table, air quoted and emphasized certain words to prove her point. Cana maybe the drunkard of the guild, but there are times when her intoxication can be of some use. Hearing her explanation, lightened the mood of all three of the men in front of her causing them to glance at each other and relax their composures.

"I see...no mating for a week." Laxus concluded, nonchalantly.

"WHAT?!" Cana shot up from her position and stared, wide-eyed, at her mate, "But I confessed that it was my fault!"

"Yes, but you still didn't follow the original instructions that I gave you." Laxus grinned, crossing his arms.

"But-!"

"You wanna make it 3 weeks?" He smirked, clearly enjoying this game. Cana groaned, falling back on the table.

"Well, if my fellow team mates would excuse me, I have to punish my sweet, dear, Lady Mirajane for lying to her lover." Freed said, approaching his girlfriend.

"'Punish'?" She questioned, but never received an answer because Freed bent down, grabbed Mira behind her knees, and straightened back up with her over his broad shoulder. Freed may look weak, but don't let that fool you. As they walked out, Mira's beet red face could be seen from within her silver hair. Bickslow and Laxus chuckled.

"You heading out, man?" Laxus asked.

"Yeah, might as well. Gotta take Cosplayer to bed, right?" Bickslow indicated his thumb to a softly snoring Lucy. Some time during the argument she just dropped and fell soundlessly asleep. Bickslow carefully lifted Lucy, bridal style, letting her head rest on his chest as she mumbled, "One more drink..." Making Bickslow chuckle lightly.

"Same here." Laxus said, grabbing Cana by the waist and draping her over his shoulder like a wet towel.

"Hey! Why do handle me so roughly?! And put me down, I can walk, you know!" Cana constantly shouted as both men walked out the door with their woman in their arms.

"Don't you have to close up?" Bickslow asked once they got outside.

"I'll just let Gramps do it, he's still inside."

"'Kay then, see ya, man. And thanks anyway for the set up with the restaurant and stuff."

Laxus nodded, "See ya." And they both walked their separate ways.

"Bye! Hey, wait. Carry me like how Bickslow's carrying Lucy. Hey. Hey! Are you listening to me?!" Cana smacked Laxus' head.

"_That's_ it! No mating for 3 weeks!"

"What?! Nooooooo...!" Cana cried and whimpered all the way home.


	8. Epilogue 2

**A/N: Finally done! Here you guys are, the last chapter of this story. For real this time! I am so sorry it took so long, though. I hope you guys aren't mad or annoyed or something with me. I'M SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! (Goes down on my hands and knees, begging for your forgiveness).**

**Fair warning: it's a roller coaster of emotions and it's pretty lengthy. I understand if you don't want to read it, but, if you do, there's several smut and fluffiness to relax your minds as you read.**

**Let the BixLu fluffiness...BEGIN! Enjoy! :)  
**

* * *

**Epilogue: Part 2**

**One Emotional Day**

Finally in front of our house, I gently set Lucy down to her feet, keeping my arm secured around her waist, so I could open the door. Occasionally, the babies would gently nudge Lucy's head back on my shoulder whenever it fell to odd angles, making me chuckle slightly. After unlocking and pushing the door wide open, I bent down to grab the back of Lucy's legs again, to carry her in, but the gentle sound of her voice stopped me from doing so, "Bicks…you don't have to carry me in; I don't deserve that kind of kindness. But, er, can I have a kiss, instead?"

I eyed her curiously before straightening up to her height.

Her face, that was tilted towards the ground, out of exhaustion, followed me as I straightened up to look at her, especially her eyes. Once her glassy eyes met mine in the dim streetlight, I knew that she was upset, but not to the point where she would constantly blink. When Lucy is upset, her eyes water up and she asks for a kiss or to cuddle to help her comfort herself.

But, _why_ was she upset_, _exactly?

Still looking straight at her, I said gently, cupping her face, "Hey, what's got you so upset, huh?" I leaned forward to gently bump our foreheads together, as a way to make her smile and soften her frown a little, but it did nothing of the sort. She just continues to look at me with the same expression, waiting until I "comfort" her.

With a defeated sigh, I swiftly brought down my lips and connected them with hers. She instantly responds back. Unfortunately, much to my disappointment, I pulled away after a few seconds causing her to whined in protest.

I nuzzle my nose against hers, reassuringly, "Hey, don't worry, love. I'll shower you with more later. C'mon, let's get inside. It's getting cold out here." I said, as I took off my coat, the one Lucy got me for our first anniversary, and draped it over her shoulders. Putting my hand on the small of her back, I ushered her into the house, instructing her to lay down on the bed while I get her a glass of water. After closing and locking the door behind me, Lucy and my babies went straight to the room, while I headed to the kitchen to get the cup of water.

With the glass of water in hand, I entered the bedroom. Cosplayer laid on the bed, in her tank top and skirt, with one of my babies in between the palms of her hands, thumbs stroking the round edge of its head, while the others circled above her, keeping her company. Lucy seemed to be mumbling something to the one in her hands, Pappa, because she suddenly starting giggling and then grabbed all of them to her chest. I chuckled at how suddenly affectionate she got when she was drunk.

I quietly went over to the bedside table and set down the cup, then turned around and removed my visor and the rest of my clothes.

This isn't the first time I've seen Cosplayer drunk, though. The day Mira threw us that party for coming clean about our secret relationship actually was. I never would've expected that she was the affectionate-type-of-drunk until I spotted her tonguing Levy. Gajeel was there too, sitting across from them, looking just as shocked as I was, at the time. However, due to the shock that overcame Gajeel and I, we couldn't pull our girls away from each other, we just continued to gawk at them, wide-eyed, while they both had a chance to stick their tongue down each others throats. Luckily, a roar of whistles, hoots, and the continued banging of mugs against wood brought us back to the matter at hand: to separate our girls away from each other...no matter how hot the display was.

I told Lucy the next day, and remembering how red her face was before she crawled under the covers, out of sheer embarrassment, put a smile on my face.

As I was stripping off my many layers of clothing (fabric-by-fabric), I carefully slipped a small box out from beneath the fabric of my belt. Observing the box for a minute, I was about to pull the lid from it, but checked over my shoulder to Lucy before doing so, and carefully opened it to find the necklace, that I bought after Laxus began slurring his words, still inside. As carefully and as slowly as I could, I took out the necklace from its box and slid the lid back on, placing the now empty box on the dresser next to the other one. With the necklace in hand, I fisted it tightly before continuing to remove the rest of my clothes, acting natural.

Once in my boxers, I walked over to the bathroom, leaving the door wide open as the fluorescent lights both blinded me and streamed out the door, to brush my teeth.

Walking out of the bathroom with a fresh mouth, I flicked off the lights and made my way over to Lucy, who had changed her position while I was in the bathroom. I also noticed that the babies have moved from Lucy's side and settled themselves into their beds for the night.

Cosplayer had her body on its side, so it was facing me as I walked over; her guild-marked hand hung loosely over her exposed waist, while the other was folded beneath her head; and her soft, smooth creamy legs lay naturally on top of one another, slightly bent at the knees, with her feet crossed at the ankles.

Cosplayer's eyes followed me the whole time -from when I came out of the bathroom to when I climbed into bed- and I stared right back at them. If she were to just stretch out her hand and wiggled her finger at me in a "come hither" motion, I wouldn't have hesitated to jump right into bed and start ravishing her all over.

Unfortunately, she doesn't do that. She just lays there, fluttering her eyes at me in an innocent, almost cute kind of way.

Lying down just inches in front of her, I immediately pulled her close, catching her off guard. Cosplayer's body stiffened instantly, clearly not expecting that. I embrace her tighter, nuzzle my face in the crook of her neck, and just start apologizing for everything. As I spoke, I discreetly slipped the necklace around her neck and locked it in place, then I pulled her closer and drew circles on her back with my thumb, to conceal the fact that I put something around her neck.

When I was finished with my sincere apology, Cosplayer's body, that had already relaxed while I was talking, was now snug against mine. Her arm slid up my back, and she loosely returned my embrace.

Assuming that this loose and weak hug meant that she was close to forgiving me, I felt a shred of hope tingle from within my chest while I patiently anticipated for her answer. Either that, or her head is still a bit fuzzy from the alcohol, and she only hugged me because I'm currently hugging her. That sliver of hope that I once felt in my chest disappeared and is now filled with disappointment; my grip around Cosplayer slackened a little.

"Bickslow?" Lucy calls against my bare chest. The small familiar tingle of hope erupts from my chest again at the sound of my name.

Pulling away just enough to look at her, I cupped the side of her face and tilted her head up, allowing me to see her clear, chocolate brown eyes looking back at me. _'Not a cloud in the sky.'_ I grinned at the silly metaphor, trying to relate a weather phrase to the eyes of a drunk.

"Hn?" I grunted, eagerly waiting for her forgiveness.

"...What's around my neck?" She softly says in a cute little voice.

My breath hitched and my eyes widened a fraction at her unexpected question. I quickly racked my brain for some excuse as to why a metallic chain was around her neck, but it's incredibly hard to come up with something, right there on the spot, _'If I say, "It's nothing", she might reach for it and touch it proving that something __**is**__ defiantly around her neck. But then, I can't swiftly just take it off of her 'cause she could feel it being removed. And straight up _telling_ her is not even an option! Uggghh! What do I do?!'_ Lucy continues to silently stare at me, patiently waiting for an answer while I tried to come up with a good excuse that gave everything away, without ruining what the accessory around her neck was, _'C'mon! There's gotta be something...that's it!'_ I triumphantly thought, releasing the breath I was holding and relaxing my body when I finally came up with something to tell her.

Gently caressing her cheek with my thumb, I looked at her, feeling a slight warmth coming to my cheeks, and finally said those three simple words that she's been dying to hear all day, "...Happy Anniversary, Lucy."

_'If I can't tell her, then maybe this simple little phrase will.' _Was what I'd thought up.

Lucy's eyes became watery, and she felt her chest tighten and her body lighten at those words.

"Bickslow..." She exhales, then throws her arms around me, "You **did **remember."

A sigh of relief passed through my lips when she finally hugged me, and, without thinking, I uttered out the truth, "I never forgot."

We held each other for a long while, never wanting to let the other go, but it seemed short lived when Lucy gave a soft complaint that her head hurt. Giving her forehead a kiss, I released her and grabbed the glass of water on the bedside table behind me. Pulling her up into a sitting position, I handed her the glass, but she just shook her head, refusing to take it.

About to gently order her to drink it, she suddenly murmured, "Can you help me?" Furrowing my brows together at another of her strange requests, I hesitantly brought the cup to her mouth and began tilting it, but she turned her head once the water made contact with her lips, refusing it again. Sighing, I quickly brought the glass down to my lap and waited until Lucy turned her head back around.

It's surprising how I'm not annoyed by her actions right now, instead, I find it rather cute. I grinned.

We both turned to look at each other, waiting for the other to speak, then Lucy spoke up specifically clarifying her previous request, "I want to drink from your **mouth**."

I blinked a couple times, wondering if I heard wrong, but when her eyes drifted down to my lips and then back up to my eyes as if to confirm that, that was what she really wanted, I felt a smirk make its way to the corner of my mouth.

Without another confirmation, I brought the glass to my mouth, but not before mumbling out, from between my lips, "Should've told me sooner," and took a decent sip of water. Setting the glass back on the table, I swiftly turned, grabbed the back of Lucy's neck, and connected my lips with her grinned ones. Tilting her head back a little, I easily passed through Lucy's lips with my tongue and transferred the liquid into her mouth. She took it without protest and gulped. Reluctantly releasing Lucy's lips, she exhaled deeply then inhaled, needing air. With my thumb, I wiped away a drop of water that escaped from the corner of her mouth, while she caught her breath.

Watching her breathless, blushing expression, I unconsciously grabbed the glass of water and took a decent sip again. I can't handle all these short kisses, I needed her _now._

At her third intake of air, she breathes out, "Bicks-" And right then and there, my lips were connected with hers again, cutting her off right when she called my name.

Once I heard Lucy swallow, I instantly released her mouth and moved down to her jawline, to catch the fallen drop of liquid with my tongue and to also let her catch her breath, even if it was just for a little gulp. Then I moved back up and swiftly took her mouth again while she was gasping for air. Our tongues played with one another, neither one seeking dominance, just following the heated flow of one another.

Lucy cups my face as I slowly move over her and lower her to the bed, wanting to feel her body pressed up against mine. Holding myself up with my hands on either side of Lucy's head, never letting our lips part -only when it was necessary to breathe- she runs her hands through my hair and grabs a fist full of blue and black locks and lightly tugs at the strands. Blood immediately rushed through my entire body, especially that specific region, and I moaned.

When that time for oxygen was desperately needed, I released her lips and trailed light firm kisses down her jawline to the crook of her neck, taking a short breather there while also taking in her intoxicating scent. I could practically feel Lucy's pulse beating erratically beneath her skin, because mine is beating just as fast right now.

After several intakes of air, I pressed an open-mouth kiss a little above the crook of her neck and instinctively just started sucking at the batch of skin there.

Lucy's core involuntarily spiked at the action, causing her to tighten her grip on my hair and gasp at his heated breath.

Seconds later, a dark purple love bite marred her skin. I kissed it; promising to leave more of those as the evening progresses.

Venturing down her collarbone to her chest, I trailed kisses along the way until I was faced with her busty bosoms. I licked my lips, hungrily, but couldn't eagerly go in for the kill, knowing that it would kill the mood, somehow. So, holding myself back some, I decided to place a single kiss on both of her breasts, then resumed placing kisses upon the upper half of her body, making sure I would go back to those later and take my sweet time teasing them.

I kissed the other side of Lucy's neck before deciding that it's been a while since I had a taste of her lips and urgently crashed my lips onto hers, probably bruising them with the amount of force I used.

Lucy's core spiked again and again, one after the other, from all the things he were doing to her. Once his lips finally returned to her lips, she practically sighed in bliss and relief, because if he continued to shower her entire body she didn't think she could take it and probably melt from pleasure. But now that his lips were on hers, she can finally take charge of where this thing could go.

Suddenly, Lucy's lips became more forceful and moved at a more vigorous pace that I had anticipated it to. It took me slightly aback for a second. Luckily, with my advance skills, I was able to keep up with her, but then she changed it up on me by flipping me onto my back.

I was in this state of shock and excitement that, for a split second, I couldn't figure out what to do with my hands. So they were just up there, basically surrendering to whatever Lucy wanted to do (for now) and having a pretty good idea of where she wanted this to go.

But, despite that, a thought crossed my mind before I fully gave in to this night of passion, '_Hopefully this moment will become imprinted onto her body…if she's still drunk, that is.'_

* * *

The morning came unexpectedly as the sunlight beamed brightly through the windows, nearly blinding me. I groaned out in annoyance. It was literally _way_ too early to get up. So, to avoid doing just that, I attempted to roll away from the direction of the window and bury my face in the pillow, but was stopped when I felt the weight of Lucy's body shift along with mine. I looked down and saw that she lay bare on my chest, her hair pushed behind her head, leaving her back exposed and the rest of her body covered by the satin blankets.

Just then, vivid memories of last night appeared before I eyes…

A stupid grin unconsciously pulled at the corners of my lips, and I couldn't help but gaze lovingly down at her, stroking through her messy hair.

I ran my fingers through her hair a couple more time until she awoke.

Lucy started, gently, snuggling into my chest, then let out a quiet moan as she presses herself closer. After a moment, she finally allowed herself to open her eyes, but, with the sunlight beaming directly in her eyes, she tightly shuts and shields them with her hand, for good measure. Then she lets out a low groan of annoyance and faces her head away from the sun altogether.

'_Her imitation of my reaction is so adorable. Better than mine.' _I thought, briefly chuckling at the scene. I leaned down to press my lips to her head before speaking out, "Guess we both had the same problem this morning."

Lucy lets out a series of groans before mumbling out, in a whining tone, "Too early." Then she groggily sits up a little, rests her chin on the back of her hands, that she previously laid on top of one another on my chest, and looks up at me.

"G'morning." I finally greeted, sounding slightly raspy, offering her a soft smile.

"Ugh," She grumbles, rolling her eyes while her head instinctively followed, falling onto her forearm, "mornings…" She mumbles miserably, sounding like she truly dreaded waking up. Nevertheless, she lets out sigh and looks up at me from my chest, giving me a tired smile in return, saying again, genuinely, "Good morning."

"How do you feel?" I casually asked, pushing her hair out of her face and placing them behind her ear causing Lucy to lean into the warmth of my hand.

A corner of Lucy's mouth pulls up into a smile. Then she hums and says, "Great."

I finally let out the sigh that I didn't realize I was holding, but for some reason I wasn't satisfied with that answer, "So, you don't feel _any_ pain whatsoever? Like in, or on, or around your lower region, maybe?"

"Are you trying to tell me something, Bickslow?" She asks, suspiciously, lifting her head off my chest.

For a second, my voice involuntarily went to falsetto for a second, "What? W-Why would you suggest something like that? Can't I just be concerned of my girlfriend's well-being?" I nervously cackled out loud, trying to play it cool, but it awkwardly died down once I saw Lucy's questioning eyebrow lift. I cleared my throat to clear the awkward air.

"We had sex last night, didn't we?" Lucy bluntly asks.

I could feel the blood rushing to my face, but I had to suppress it to show that I was mature, "Yeah." _'Well, no use in sugarcoating it, then.' _I thought, rubbing the back of my neck.

Lucy slowly nods, "Oh." Then suddenly looks down, and takes in the fact that we're bare and intertwined just beneath the covers, "Oh! Well, yeah, I guess this is a dead giveaway, if nothing else." She blushes.

I chuckle, murmuring under my breath, "You have _no_ idea."

"What?"

"Nothing." I responded, giving her a soft smile. She narrows her eyes at me again, in suspicion, I chuckle, "It's nothing, babe, really." After a couple of seconds, Lucy relaxes her expression and sighs, in defeat, "That's it." I purred, lightly trailing the curve of her spine with my fingertips causing a low hum to erupt from Lucy's throat as she relaxes on my chest, "Get some sleep, love, 'cause, like you said, it's _way_ too early to be awake…after our intense love-making last night, I'm sure you're tired, still." Right after the words left my mouth, I felt my head being roughly shoved to the side.

"Shut up." Lucy playfully grumbles, blushing into my chest, "I didn't say that."

I cackle softly, pressing my lips to her head, "I know. But you were inferring it." I said, closing my eyes, trying to fall back to sleep.

It felt like eternity, but only one measly minute, passed just laying on the bed trying to fall back asleep before I realized that it wasn't going to happen. I tried pulling Lucy closer into me, hoping the warmth of her body would allow me to sleep, but it didn't work. Then I tried gathering her into my arms and burying my face into the crook of her neck, hoping her intoxicating scent would do the trick, but it doesn't.

However, there _was_ something different with Lucy's scent. It smelt different from her usual floral scent, kind of more enticing, more fresh…to be honest, it kind of smells like-

"Bickslow," Lucy suddenly chokes out, sounding out of breath, putting a pause on my train of thought, "baby, I can't breath." _'Oh, shit!'_

While I was busy trying to identify her mysterious scent, I unconsciously tightened my hold around her, preventing her from breathing.

I immediately loosened my hold on her, but just a bit, wanting to still put a name to her altered fragrance, "Sorry, princess." I apologized, planting a couple of kisses to the crook of her neck.

"Can't sleep, huh?" Lucy hums.

"Uh-uh." I declined, shaking my head, then I pull back, removing my head from her neck just enough to look at her, "Wanna help me?" I teased, wiggling a brow as a smirk played at my lips and a hand slowly slid down to the curve of Lucy's backside.

She lets out a brief giggle and smiles.

I don't know why, but something about the way she giggled and smiled seemed very…threatening. It wasn't until I felt her fingernails pinch the back of my hand, that was currently on her ass, that I realized too late: Lucy did **not** find that funny, at all.

"Aww, baby, no matter how much I want to help with that, I can't." She begins in a suspiciously sweet tone, shrugging, but what scares me was when her tone lowered, and she spoke through clenched teeth, "Because it's too _**early**__._ Now, take your hand off of my ass, so I can shower." She orders slowly, seething. I, instantly, pull my hands away from her body altogether, showing that they were off of her, slightly quivering, "Good." She nods and turns to get up. I sigh. Then, she looks over her shoulder and adds, "And don't you _dare_ look at my ass." Before slowly standing up and making her way to the bathroom. I raised a brow when I noticed that Lucy was walking rather slowly to her destination, which wasn't that far away, maybe a couple feet away.

"You alright, Cosplayer? You need some help?" I voiced, slightly concern by the way she was walking; almost like she was stepping on glass, making like the pain the glass was inflicting didn't faze her at all, only it clearly was if you looked at her pained expression. After rolling off the bed, I searched for my boxers before going over to her side and helping her.

"Thanks, Bicks." She says, blushing when I pulled her into my side, carrying half her weight as I walked her the rest of the way, "But, really, I'm fine." She says, trying to convince me.

"Yeah, okay," I respond, giving a brief chuckle, not taking her words to heart because I know she really isn't, "but could you bathe instead of shower, like you always do?" I requested, leaning my back against the bathroom door frame, once we made it to the entrance, slowly turning Lucy around and bringing her close by the waist, bare bosoms touching bare chest.

"But I wanna shower!" She quietly whines, sticking out her bottom lip.

I could feel the warmth of my blood crawling up to my cheeks. The sight of her plump red lip set it a pouted expression brought a sudden taint to my face, _'She looks so cute.'_ I quickly turned away from her gaze and cleared my throat, trying to fight off my blush, "F-fine. If you're certain of your decision, then I'll let you shower," I turned back around to see her smiling, so I continued, "under one condition," her smile instantly dropped, "you let me wash your body."

It was her turn for her face to turn beet red, but her brows wrinkled together as she puffed up her cheeks, if her arms weren't sandwiched between our bodies, she would've crossed them. As she turns her attention towards the ground, she mutters, stubbornly, "That doesn't make things any better…"

I grinned, "For me it does."

Cosplayer snaps her head back around, looking really furious and shocked; there were several more emotions swimming in her eyes, but those were the most prominent ones that I could decipher.

"Bicks-!"

I pressed my finger against Lucy's soft lips, instantly quieting her and saying, firmly, "Lucy, I'm not going to argue about this any longer. It's either shower with me, or bathe?"

Lifting my finger away from Lucy's lips and wrapping them back around her waist, I patiently waited for her answer, rubbing my thumbs up and down on her smooth skin.

It wasn't long before Lucy let out growl. She doesn't like it when things don't go her way, "Fine! I'll bathe…but I won't enjoy it!"

I cackled, my tongue naturally exposing my guild mark, "Yeah, okay." I said in the same tone, not taking her words seriously again. Leaning forward, I press my lips to her forehead, lingering there for a second, then moving down to smooch her cheek. Pulling away, I grabbed her by the shoulders, turned her toward the bathroom, and began ordering, "Now get that ass in the tub!" Then I smacked said ass firmly causing her to yelp, take several steps forward, and grab her ass in pain.

She looks back at me, blushing fiercely, with the same furiousness and shockness as before, probably even more intense. I smirked, grabbing the handle of the door, shouting, "Enjoy!" And immediately closed the door on her once I saw her approaching, my name being the last thing I heard before it was shut completely.

I leaned against the door, chuckling softly at Cosplayer's fuming face before I closed the door. Then I walked over to the bed and collapsed, faced down, onto Cosplayer's side. It had her mysterious new scent too. I looked down at the sheets curiously, wondering what this new smell smelt like. Rolling over onto my back, I looked out the window, pondering back to Cosplayer's mysterious new scent.

After about a few minutes with my thoughts, I hear the sound of a door handle turning. I automatically look towards the bathroom to see Lucy standing halfway out the doorway with a towel wrapped around her.

Deciding to break the silence first, I asked, "Did ya change your mind about the shower?" A small smirk playing at the corner of my lips.

Instead of giving an immediate answer, Lucy takes her time and disappears behind the door. When she comes back, she opens the door wider and fully stands in the doorway, and, in her hand, she holds up the dress that I bought for her to wear on our dinner date, "I found a dress." She softly acknowledges, her face expressionless.

The small smirk dropped from my face as I laid there staring wide eyed at the dress, that I completely forgot about 'til now, "Oh."

As I sat up, Cosplayer walks to the edge of the bed and lays the dress out at the foot of it.

"I, er, I read the note that was attached to it…" She hesitantly notifies me, crossing an arm around her stomach while the other bends at the elbow to absentmindedly play with the necklace around her neck.

The sight of her playing with her necklace seemed like a good sign to slowly scoot to the edge, beside her, gently urging for her to continue, "And…?" As a grin starts making itself known. Then, reaching out a hand, I grabbed the edge of her towel and gently pulled, leading her to stand in between my legs, and holding her close by the waist, "You like it." I guessed, looking up into her eyes.

"Nope," Lucy states, smiling when she saw the grin slowly disappear and get replaced by the wrinkle of my brows, looking at her mildly shocked and confused. So she unfolds her arms from around her body and wraps them around my neck, in order for her hands to message the back of my head, like she was gently soothing me of my current worries of her disapproving the dress. Then, she closes her eyes and leans her forehead against mine, quietly mumbling so just the two of us could hear, "…I love it."

Without any warning, I press my lips to hers, closing the small gap that was once there, "You freakin' scared me." I mumbled against her lips. Lucy giggles, tightening her arms around my neck. And she giggles even more as I stood up from the bed, probably laughing at how the close proximity automatically made me just want to ravish her all over again, which was part of the reason.

I deepen the kiss, and Lucy moans once our tongues touch. However, no matter how badly I wanted to take control, I found myself lazily…"playing", and, to my surprise, Lucy does the same: gently caressing and tracing each others mouths, trying to memorize every edge, curve, and groove of it all.

As we were too immersed with each other, I obliviously collided us into the dresser. Lucy was the first to pull away, taking in the object that I just let her crash into, and laughs at my clumsiness.

I playfully roll my eyes, sarcastically laughing, "Ha ha ha. Come here!" I said, effortlessly lifting her by the waist and placing her on top the dresser; grinning from ear-to-ear when I heard her surprised squeal then her sweet laughter. I kiss her lips, "I love you." I say, once I pulled away, looking up at her.

She giggles before reciting back, "I love you too." Then confirms it by softly connecting our lips, pulling away after a short second. I, however, quickly cupped her face and began bestowing multiple kisses to her face, neck, and chest, showering every inch of her exposed skin. Lucy cries, pleads, and begs me to stop, but I just continue to shower her with love, until, suddenly, she asks, "Hey, what's this?"

I paused my action, pulling away to look at the box that was currently in Lucy's hand. At first, I thought she grabbed the empty one, but once she gave it a little shake and the curiosity got the better of her, I instantly regretted ever buying the pair.

When she removed the lid, she glances at me before taking out the second necklace. It was a simple solid gold filigree skeleton key that weaved into a heart in the center of the bow, with a heart-shaped lacrima inside it, and a star hollowed out in the bit.

"It's my key." I answered, looking at the ground in embarrassment.

"Yours? For what?"

"Er…uh…" I stutter, embarrassed to say the most cheesiest line ever said, rubbing the back of my neck as a small warmth reaches my cheeks, "It's for the locket around your neck." I manage to utter out instead, too cowardly to even say those words.

"It opens?" Lucy asks, amazed by the concept that it actually opens.

I nod, watching as she set the necklace down and went to removing hers from around her neck. Then she goes to opening her locket with my key.

"It's a lacrima." She informs once the two halves of her heart locket opens with a click, sounding slightly disappointed at what she was seeing.

I chuckle, saying sarcastically, "Well, don't get too excited."

She turns to look at me, apologetically, "Sorry. I was kind of expecting-"

"A photo? A small engraving?" I guessed, finishing her sentence for her.

She shrugs a shoulder, "…Something like that." She says before sighing, handing me both necklaces, so she could hop off the dresser, "But I do _love_ the necklace, since, you know, it's the first anniversary gift you ever gave me." She continues, taking her necklace back, closing the locket, and reattaching it around her neck.

All of a sudden, both of our necklaces begin to glow a crimson red and radiate a foreign warmth that envelops around us. Unaware to the both of us that a ritual was happening that makes us become one.

"Bickslow, what's happening? I suddenly feel all warm." Lucy inquired, confusion and panic writing on her face.

"I don't know, but it's alright. It's probably nothing." I comforted, gathering her in my arms. The second she was in my arms, I continued to console her the best I could, trying to take her mind off of our current situation.

Just then, we were carefully lifted off our feet, and I could feel Lucy's heart beating erratically, "Bickslow…!"

"Hey, it's okay," I calmly murmured to her, cupping her face, so she wasn't able to look towards the ground, "just focus your attention on me, okay? Only me. No matter what, got it?" She nods fearfully, unable to say anything. "It'll be over soon. Don't worry." I whisper, resting my chin on her head.

"…Your heart is beating incredibly fast." She suddenly voices, after a moments silence.

"Is it?"

"Yeah." She confirms, cuddling deeper into my chest, if that was even possible, considering how tight I was already holding her.

I chuckle, pressing my lips to her head.

Moments pass before the glowing, warmth, and lifting finally ceases, and we're gently settled to the ground. It took us a couple of seconds to realize that we were on solid land before we slowly separated from each other.

'_**That was weird.' **_I thought, looking down at the skeleton key in my hand, trying to come up with an explanation for its suspicious glowing.

"Unbelievably weird." Lucy unexpectedly answers back.

I turn to look at her with a raised brow, "Did you just…?"

Lucy scrunches her eyebrows up at me when I trailed off, "'Did I just' what?"

'…_**Read my mind?' **_I mentally answered. Without a seconds delay, Lucy lets out a short-lived scream and retracts a couple of steps back, _**'Well, guess that answers that question.'**_

"W-what…how…I-I don't…I don't understand!" She claims as she starts to pace the room, "How can I suddenly start hearing your thoughts, and why? I mean, I have to admit, it _is_ pretty cool, but **still**! It's out of the ordinary. It probably has something to do with what just happened. The red glow and warmth coming from our necklaces…" She gasps, abruptly stopping in her step and spun on her heel to face me, her eyes wide signifying an 'Ah, ha!' moment has occurred.

I cut her 'Ah, ha!' moment short before she thought of something crazier for this whole ordeal, "Before you say anything," I start, making my way towards her, "they are _not_ spelled, and we haven't just been "cursed"." Air quoting the word "curse".

She pouts then, crossing her arms, "That's not what I was going to say at all…" Then she gasps again, **_'_**_**She's have another moment.'**_

I sigh, then, "Yes, I can read your mind too, but it also says on your face." I point out, grinning as I firmly tapped the center of her forehead with my finger, then turning to walk over to the foot of the bed.

'_Arrogant perverted bastard.'_

"I prefer 'Arrogant perverted _God_'." I corrected over my shoulder.

I could hear Lucy grumble, complaining aloud, "Stop listening to my thoughts!"

I laugh, throwing my head back.

At the foot of the bed, I grab Lucy's dress and put it away in the closet, automatically thinking back to yesterday's planned event before it was ruined by Cana and Mira's drinking contest. I deeply sigh, my shoulders drooping in the process.

"Bicks…?"

I grunt, turning my head to see Lucy, cross-legged, on the bed. And, I didn't have to read her mind to know that she was upset, it was all displayed on her face. "What is it? What's wrong?" I inquired, taking a seat in front of her.

"I'm sorry." I give her a confused expression and was about to question her again until she continued, "I don't know why, but…I just suddenly had flashes of your 'Anniversary Mission' with Laxus and Freed."

I looked at her confused before my eyes widen in unexpected realization, _**'You can **_**see**_** in my head too?'**_

She nods, answering my mental question, before saying quietly, her voice cracking in the process, "So, making me cry was a part of the mission too?"

Somehow, I felt like crying as my chest slowly began to crack, gradually breaking me down.

"Baby," I start, my voice recognizably thick, like I was holding back a sob, so I cleared my throat, "please. Let me explain." I pleaded, reaching out to grab her hands, that were folded in front of her, but she pulls them back before I was able to touch them, "Lucy…" I breathed, afraid that she was going to push me away before I had the chance to explain.

"You made me cry, Bickslow." Lucy mumbles dryly through her lips, barely audible for me to hear, then she lets out a humorless chuckle, "I actually believed you forgot. How foolish." She whispers, as her hand slides off my chest.

I shook my head again, desperate for her attention, "No, baby. _Please_, let me explain." The sight of her gradually breaking down in front of me was too painful to watch, I needed to engulf her in my arms and comfort her, but she wasn't letting me. And it both hurt and frustrated me to no end.

"I thought we were done keeping secrets." Lucy absentmindedly states, ignoring me.

"No! I wasn't trying to…" I argued back, taking the chance to gently cup her face, but she instinctively turned her head away from my touch.

"I thought I wasn't one of your toys." She says scooting backwards, keeping her head down.

"No! Of course you're not!" I exclaimed, advancing toward her, desperately wanting to comfort her.

"But you toyed with my feelings…"

I froze. I stopping inches in front of her, clearly within touching distance, but I was afraid to do so. '_What if she pushes away again? What if she doesn't? What if she doesn't respond back? What if she does? What if she decides to do something rash? What if she doesn't?'_ There are so many 'what if' to answer and not enough time and the only reason they pop up is because of fear.

Fear isn't in my vocabulary; I was an alien to the word because I always confronted it. But today, in this moment, it's my first time **feeling** it. And it doesn't feel good.

It felt like a parasite was eating away at my chest cavity and, no matter what I do, it'll still be there, attempting to hollow me out unless I do something about it.

And my opportunity to get rid of it was just standing right there, so close, but why did she seem so far?

A part of me wanted to give her space, so she could have time with her thoughts and let out her tears, but the other part needed to be there for her, to constantly reassure her that I will never leave her side.

Moving on my own accord, I carefully moved beside a currently crying Lucy and finally engulfed her in my embrace. Without knowing it, I bent forward and lifted Lucy, moving her so that she was between my legs.

Leaning slightly against the headboard, I began rocking her back and forth, resting my cheek on the top of her head as she finished crying; while I tried to hold back my own tears.

* * *

_"Pick Up!...Answer it! Answer it!...Pick Up! Pick Up!…" _The recorded sound of my cheering babies suddenly woke me up from my unexpected nap.

I quietly groaned, feeling the stiffness in my neck from sleeping while sitting up. Before I moved to answer the lacrima, I kept a steady hand around Cosplayer's body, preventing her from falling over. Carefully leaning over, I grabbed my communications lacrima and answered it quickly, having a pretty good idea who it was, "Hey, man."

"'Sup. Why're you whisperin'?" Laxus inquired. Without a word, I flicked my wrist to show Lucy passed out on my chest, "Whoa. Okay. Didn't need to see that."

I faced the device back towards me, "So, what's up?"

"Job at Oak Town. Train leaves in 45."

"Alright. I'm…" I started, turning to move, but trailed off, stopping my movements once I realized that Lucy was going to get upset if I left without a word again, "I'm gonna stay here. Kinda got some explaining to do." I continued, letting out a humorless chuckle.

Laxus looked surprised that I actually denied going on a job with them, but then he grinned, admirably, "If you say so. But try to hold back next time, will ya? Relationships ain't just about sex, you know?"

I breathed a chuckle, "Good to know. Same goes for you and Cana."

He laughs, "Sure, whatever. Later."

I ended the call, laughing before setting the lacrima down and readjusting Lucy in my lap, pulling her up.

"You could've went." Lucy suddenly voices softly from my chest.

"I didn't expect you would wake up so soon. But if I did, you would get upset again, right?"

"…"

I chuckle, pressing my lips to her head, then sighing.

We stayed like that for a while, physically stable with one another, enjoying each others warmth and company, but, emotionally, we were both feeling guilt, upset, frustrated, overwhelmed, we were practically an emotional wreck; but one thing we both shared was love.

"After I left yesterday," I unexpectedly started, "you were supposed to have your girl talk with Cana and Mira, so they could ease your worries about me and what I was doing." I don't know what was happening, but I couldn't stop now, "They were supposed to give you a note that said, _'__Once you get home, go to the bathroom.' _and, as expected, you were supposed to find that dress," I nodded my head towards the dress in the closest, "hanging behind the door with another note that said-"

"'_Do you like the dress?'_' Lucy cuts in, reciting the note that I wrote word-for-word, "_'When you're in this, meet me out on the porch, but not right now, at sunset. And Happy Anniversary, Love. You didn't think I'd forget, did you?'_"

A sad smile touches my face, "Yeah…exactly." Silence engulfed us for a moment, then I started again, "We were supposed to go to a restaurant after I picked you up then give you the necklace you're currently wearing and as I intertwine our fingers together, I press a kiss to the back of your hand and say, 'You have my heart.'" I demonstrate as I talked, "And since you handed me this key," I continued as we both looked down at the skeleton key in our open intertwined hands, saying softly, taking a glance to see her reaction, "I hold the key to your heart now."

Right when the words left my mouth, I could feel multiple things shift within my body: my eyes held the familiar burn from beneath them, a lump was forming in my throat like I was trying to hold back a sob, my heart beat quickened, butterflies were fluttering in my stomach, and redness began to fill my cheeks.

Quietly sighing through my nose, I thought, mentally grimacing, _**'I can't believe I actually said the most cheesiest line ever…'**_ Lucy giggles, _**'Crap! I forgot that you can read my mind now.' **_I mentally cursed, looking away when she turned to see my blushing reaction.

"Aww, baby." She giggles, adjusting herself so that she was straddling me, "Don't be so discouraged. As a writer, I think the most cheesiest lines are the most romantic ones." She says, reassuringly, gently turning my head with her hand. While she strokes my cheekbone with her thumb, I take comfort to her words and relax, however, she continues, "As your girlfriend, though, I think they expose to want is truly in your heart, which I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, yet. So…"

"It's a good thing. A most _definite_ good thing." I state, without hesitation, pulling her down for a passionate kiss, smiling as she softly giggles.

"I'm sorry." She mumbles against my lip right after we pulled apart.

I sighed, dropping my hands from her waist, feeling spent with all the roller coaster of emotions today, "I think we've already said enough sorry's for today, Cosplayer. What more are there to feel guilty about?"

Then I felt it, that familiar burning in the back of my eyes, and I see it in Lucy's eyes as she begins to cry, "All of it! The necklace, the dress, the reservation, y-your sweet words, your patience, the 'Anniversary Mission', all of it! I don't deserve _any_ of those things for what I did yesterday."

"Hey, it's okay. I wasn't your fault." I say, rubbing the back of her calves soothingly.

"Yes, it is!" She cries, "I ruined our surprise anniversary date with that stupid drinking contest just because I was just as stupid as to think that you would-"

I interrupted, immediately crashing my lips to hers. She resisted, trying to pull away by pushing firmly against my chest. She succeeded, pulling away only a couple of centimeters before I closed the space between our lips again and gently pushed her down, changing our positions. Then I grabbed both her hands and placed them above her head, so she couldn't push me away. Again.

I pulled away, breathing heavily, when she reluctantly responded back. She avoided my gaze when I looked down at her.

I sighed. Releasing her hands and backing off of her. I leaned against the headboard again, watching as she continued to lay there silently. I patiently waited for her to say something because nothing is swimming or passing through in her head right now, it's blank. I also don't feel mixed or raged emotions anymore, it's just…calm.

"…I don't understand…" She softly says, finally breaking the silence.

"…" I stay silent, waiting for her to continue.

"You're not angry." She states, instead of questions, breaking her gaze with the ceiling to look at me.

I shrugged a shoulder as I shook my head, "No."

Slowly, she sits up folding her hands in her lap, keeping her emotionless eyes on me as she does, "Why?"

"Because…it's _my _fault." I confessed, looking down, breaking our connection.

'_Yours?'_

Glancing at her from the corner of my eye, Lucy had her head tilted to the side and her eyebrows furrowed together, looking at me with confusion in her eyes.

I nodded, scoffing, "Yeah. I came up with that stupid 'Anniversary Mission' to prove a point." I paused, taking a deep breath, knowing that Lucy was patiently waiting for me to continue, "Well," I started, finally turning to look at her, "the point of that mission was to show you that even though I may make you angry with how forgetful I am or when I insult or tease you, at the end of the day, I will always make up for it just to keep a smile on your face. I never want you to feel unloved or unappreciated at the end of the day, especially with a day like yesterday, our Anniversary. I made you feel all kinds of emotions that day, and I'm sorry. I am _so_ sorry you had to go through the entire day thinking that I didn't love you enough to remember the day we became boyfriend and girlfriend; I am _so_ sorry that I made you feel sad and let you cry tears full of sadness right in front of me; I am _so_ sorry that I walked out the door and left you in this house cold and alone; and I am _genuinely_ sorry that I didn't ease your conscious by just saying three damn little words yesterday from the very beginning, 'Happy Anniversary, Lucy'." By the time I finished, we were both practically crying, but I was trying to hold mine back while Lucy openly let out her choked sobs, burying her face in her hands, and letting her tears fall into them, freely. As I sat in front of her, I felt slightly conflicted as to what to do from this point on. Because I wasn't sure if those were 'tears of happiness' or 'tears of sadness'.

However, actually _hearing_ the recited words from Cana coming from _my _mouth, had my heart clenching. Now, I finally understand why Cana and Mira did what they did: it was to forget her stresses, her worries, and just let her think of herself, if only for a moment.

I enveloped Lucy in my arms, letting her cry in my chest until her sobs turned into hiccups.

Slowly sliding my arms from around Lucy's body, I gently grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands away from her face. When I got her hands out of her face, she hides her face from beneath her bangs, preventing me from seeing her tear stained face. Letting her hands fall to her sides, I grabbed her face, feeling strands of her hair stick to the wet streaks the palms of my hands pressed against.

Lifting her head up, I brushed her bangs away from her face and saw her avoiding my eye contact again, "Baby, please look at me." I gently begged, wiping her face a little. When I dried most of the moister from her face, she sniffled before blinking her eyes open, revealing just how swollen and puffy her eyes were, "You're beautiful." I breathed, speechless at how crying face could make her even more beautiful.

"No, I'm not. I'm an emotional wreak." She chuckles, leaning out of my grasp to clean the remainder of herself up.

"Yeah," I replied, scooting closer to embrace her tightly, "but you're _my _emotional wreak." I continue softly. Then, suddenly, realization dawned on me causing me to slacken on her shoulder, "Ugh, another cheesy line." She giggles. I kiss her shoulder before nuzzling into the crook of her neck, mumbling, "And don't say you don't deserve any of it…'cause you do. You're worth it, every single bit of it." I feel a flutter erupt in my chest and this sudden urge to cry again, just then.

"You're gonna make me cry again."

I playfully groaned, "Stop with the tears, already!" I scolded, carefully wiping her newfound tears away with my thumb again.

"I'm sorry." She sniffles, laughing, "You're just making me so happy right now."

I stop wiping her eyes to look into them for a second. They were filled with love, adoration, and content as they gazed back at mine. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach again as I continued to look at her with the all the love I could muster, but one of the many scenes from last night just had to ruin it. And it was the one where I finished covering almost her entire body with love bits.

Lucy reacts, gasping, leaning back from my hold on her face and jumping off the bed to look in the mirror above the dresser.

I grumble under my breath, chanting, "Stupid, stupid, stupid." As I repeatedly hit myself on the forehead with the palm of my hand.

"Ah!" Screams Lucy. I hesitantly turn my attention towards now bare body, towel pooled at her feet. Then she spins around, openly exposing herself to me, "You couldn't hold yourself back?"

Upon seeing the countless love bits I bestowed the previous night, it was difficult for me to feel guilty; instead I felt pride swell within my chest as a smug smile graced my lips, "Laxus said the same."

"Good. You listen to him better than you listen to me anyway." She snaps, spitting out the truth, then turns back to observing her hickeys.

That took me aback. I never knew Cosplayer felt that way; that Laxus' words were more important than hers, which they obviously weren't. But, to be honest, it doesn't really effect me as much as it should because the sight of Cosplayer's body in the natural glow of the sunset was turning me on. And since our souls are stitched together now, she's probably feeling horny herself.

Slowly getting up from the bed, I made my way towards Lucy, hugging her from behind and kissing the hickey on her bare shoulder before resting my head in the crook of her neck, meeting her glare in the mirror, "It shouldn't matter if I listen to him or not," Her eyes soften instantly with a blink of her eyes. Then I whisper, huskily, in her ear as I slowly trail my hand down to her heated core, "because we're…_Mates._" I emphasize, sliding my fingers between her slick folds, instantly finding the bud of nerves. A shudder rushes down Lucy's spine as a gasp escapes from her lips, and she quickly puts a hand over her mouth, "God, you're soaking wet." I stuck out my tongue and trailed it down, then back up the column of her neck while my fingers stroked her entrance, occasionally playing with her clit.

Lucy lets out a muffled moan from behind her hand, "M-M-Mates?"

I respond with a low grunt, too busy nibbling on her earlobe, then released it to elaborate, but continued playing with her entrance and her bud of nerves, "Soulmates, to be exact. After doing it multiple times last night," I quicken my pace, focusing only on her clit as I said 'multiple' causing Lucy to wrap her other arm to circle around my neck, holding herself up as her knees buckled from beneath her. I continued, calmly, "you had the same sour reaction as me when you awoke, and your fragrance smelt a little more like mine, which could only mean that our souls were at the point of interlacing with one another." I suddenly stop the pleasurable torture I was inflicting on Lucy's body, making her go limp against me as she sighed and caught her breath.

I could feel her wet folds twitching excitedly, anticipating for more, along with my hard on, which was pressed against Lucy's soft backside. Every time she would shift, jerk, or push against it, it would twitch and swell even more, practically to the point of bursting.

When her breathing was, somewhat, under control, I started, moving my fingers again, making her cry out, "But, before that could happen, we _first_," I stress, inserting a finger in her entrance causing her to cry out again, "had to make love, _then_," I inserted another finger, making her squirm, "we confess our love for each other," I softly brush my lips up and down the column of her neck as I continue, mumbling against her skin, "and, _finally,_" Inserting yet another finger, now having three digits inside, stroking her, "the symbol of our love, the necklaces." Lucy throws her head back, the loud moan escaping from behind her hand, when I quickened the pace of my fingers and continued to play with her bud at the same time, "That was the reason our necklaces were glowing and heating, we just completed the mating process for Soulmates." I couldn't believe I forgot about the process By the time I was finished, I could feel Lucy involuntarily clench her muscles around my fingers tightly; she was close, but I stopped again just before she could reach her peak.

She whimpers, desperately wiggling her hips, seeking release, but I held her hips firmly in place with my free hand, groaning painfully when her backside accidentally stroked me.

"Bicks…" Whimpers Lucy, turning her head to look into me, "please…" She pleads in my ear.

I could feel just how strong her need for release was in the pit of my stomach, I groaned, knowing mine was just about to release as well. But before I could thrust it into her, I couldn't help but trail my other hand up, gently fondling her breast, then moving up to play with her nipple, earning a soft gasp then a sharp hiss from her.

"BicksLOW…!" Lucy began to whine again before I finally gave her what she wanted, making her cry out.

The pressure in the pit of our stomachs expanded as I slid into her warmth. Happiness and love filled us both as we continued to make love for the rest of the night, never having enough of one another…that is, until I finally propose to her, which will be in a years time, but that'll be our little secret…shh…

* * *

**A/N: Okay, that's it! I promise!  
**

**If you want to see Bickslow and Lucy's necklaces then type "filigree skeleton key and padlock" in the search bar. It should be the very first picture you see.**


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